if something comes on the way (we face it as one)
by thisfairytalegonebad
Summary: A hundred different ways to tell your friends you love them. [platonic "100 Ways to say I Love You"-challenge]
1. Pull over, let me drive for a while

**Greetings! This story is a collection of short takes on each phrase of the "100 Ways to say I Love You"-list, focusing on the Chocobros and their friendship. It's all platonic, no romance, though of course you are free to view it as romantic. They all just love each other very much.**

**Some of them might be AU, but that's going to be stated in the title of each chapter, along with the relationship the chapter focuses on.**

**Title is taken from the song Fight Till Dying by my favourite band of all times, Sunrise Avenue.**

**First chapter is _Ignis & Noctis, canon verse_. Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

Ignis brought his hand up to his face again to rub at his eyes for what must've been the third time within the past 15 minutes. Gods, he was so tired, all he wanted was to lie down and get some sleep.

It was no use. They still had another two hours to drive before they could settle in for the night. By now, Ignis deeply regretted his own offer of driving to their destination. At this point, he'd probably even let Prompto drive if it meant he'd get to relinquish the driver's seat.

He glanced into the rear mirror at Noct and Gladio and then at Prompto next to him. Unsurprisingly, all three of them were fast asleep, weary from the previous night which they had spent hunting nocturnal creatures.

With a quiet sigh, Ignis turned his attention back to the road. He was already struggling to keep his focus on driving as it was, and the lack of conversation did not help improve his state of wakefulness either; he couldn't afford to get distracted if he wanted to arrive safely.

Briefly, he considered turning the radio on to give himself some background noise at least, but he didn't want to risk waking the others, so he dismissed the thought. They needed the rest, and he'd just have to make do without the radio.

Only two more hours. That was nothing. He'd gone longer without sleep during his high school days when the workload of school combined with his responsibilities at the citadel _and _the additional reports he read in order to attend the meetings in Noct's stead had left no time for sleep. Now, it hadn't even been 48 hours yet, this should not be a problem.

...except, back at the citadel, he hadn't spent the days - and the nights - fighting, exhausting himself physically, mentally and emotionally as he did now. He also hadn't spent most of the hours during which he _did _get to sleep on the cold, hard ground at a haven, and he hadn't gotten injured, sometimes critically, nearly every other day.

Alright, so perhaps this was not like the other times he had run on zero sleep. No matter. He'd just need more coffee.

He removed his right hand from the steering wheel and blindly felt for the last can of Ebony he knew was in the cup holder. When he found it, he struggled to open the can with only one hand, and before he could succeed, a hand snatched the coffee from his grip.

Startled, he looked into the rear mirror, only to find Noct blinking at him sleepily. "Noct. Give it back," Ignis said, having no patience left for such nonsense. It was coffee, or them all inevitably crashing and dying in a fireball. Noct's choice.

"How much longer?" Noct asked, making no move to return the coffee.

"About two more hours. Give me the coffee."

"Pull over. Let me drive for a while."

Ignis twisted in his seat to look at Noct directly. "You need to rest."

"So do you," Noct argued. "I slept for a few hours, when's the last time _you _slept?"

"You have never slept enough," Ignis pointed out, neatly dodging the question.

Noct sighed impatiently, making Ignis feel like their roles were reversed for a second. Usually, he was the one exasperated with Noct, not this way around.

"Specs, stop arguing. Let's switch, I can drive the rest. I'll make it an order if I have to."

Ignis glared at the rear mirror, knowing he had already lost. Noct knew he wasn't going to argue against a direct order from his prince, and Noct knew that Ignis knew too. Besides… the thought of sliding into the backseat with Gladio and _sleep _sounded heavenly just about now.

"Fine," he huffed, bringing the car to a stop at the side of the road.

They traded places, Noct with the coffee still in his hand. He gave the can a sceptical look before popping it open and chugging the entire thing.

"Ugh," he muttered, sticking his tongue out childishly.

Despite his exhaustion, Ignis let out a not very dignified snort. "Thank you, Noct. Do wake me up if you need me to take over again."

"Yeah, yeah. Now sleep."

And so Ignis did, leaning back into the seat and after a moment of consideration, slightly against Gladio's shoulder. Within seconds, he was asleep.

* * *

**If you liked, please do leave a kudos and/or a comment on your way out!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	2. It reminded me of you

**Soft bois! That's it, that's the whole thing.**

**I wrote this when I was skipping class to go for a lovely train ride instead, hope you enjoy the fruits of my delinquent life.**

**_Prompto & Noctis, Brotherhood era._ **

* * *

Noct pulled out two lunchboxes, kept one for himself and set the other one down in front of Prompto. "Here. Specs said he didn't have much time to make lunch, so he said to invite you for dinner tonight."

Prompto opened the box, closing his eyes blissfully at the smell that came from the food. "Not much time? This is still better than anything I have ever made. Are you sure he's human?"

Already shoveling his own, vegetable-free food into his mouth, Noct shrugged. "Probably not. Who knows."

A lot more slowly than Noct, Prompto started eating too, albeit with some more manners than Noct, the literal _prince_. With his free hand, he pulled his phone from his pocket and typed out a message to Ignis to thank him for both the food and the invitation.

"You don't have to text him every time to say thanks, you know."

"Yeah, well. He doesn't have to make me food either, but he still does. Least I can do is say thanks," Prompto argued. Ignis insisted it was no trouble at all for he cooked for Noct anyway, but Prompto had still made it a habit to send a little thank-you message every day. He liked to think Ignis appreciated it, too.

"Whatever. I'm not stopping you," Noct said between two bites. "But he's probably even grateful because it means he gets to feed vegetables to someone."

"Vegetables are good for you, Iggy isn't just trying to torture you with them, y'know."

Noct let out a groan and pointedly did not reply.

With a grin, Prompto went back to enjoying his food, and they sat in silence for a while. That was, at least until Prompto noticed Noct kept kind of glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes and quickly averted his gaze every time Prompto looked.

"What?" he asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing," Noct replied entirely too quickly. A few beats of silence, then, "I, uh. I got you something?"

Prompto lowered his fork, unsure if he'd heard correctly. "You… got me something?"

"Yeah, just… hang on," Noct muttered, rummaging through his bag with his head a little farther inside the bag than necessary in a failed attempt to hide his blush. "Here."

He thrust something at Prompto, who accepted it before he properly looked at it.

"Oh!" he gasped in delight when he realized it was a small plush keychain. Not just a keychain, but a _chocobo _keychain, with soft, fluffy feathers and all.

"Noct, why… You didn't have to!"

Noct shifted uncomfortably, studying the stray crumbs on the table instead of meeting Prompto's eye. "Yeah, I know, I just saw it in that store the other day and I got it for you when you weren't looking. It, uh… it reminded me of you."

Oh.

Great, now Prompto was blushing too. He was beginning to understand the sudden fascination with the crumbs now.

"That a jab at my hair again?" he tried to cover up his own abashment, hoping his voice didn't actually sound as high-pitched as he thought it did.

"No! Just... just take it and shut up!"

They were both blushing like crazy at this point. Prompto knew he was probably looking like a lovesick idiot, especially with the soft smile he couldn't quite suppress, but he couldn't bring himself to care much. Especially if Noct, who always made such an effort to appear aloof and listless, went through the awkwardness of giving him a present... that had to mean something, right?

"Thanks, Noct."

"Glad you like it," Noct mumbled, still with pink cheeks but a pleased little smile on his lips.

"I _love _it," Prompto corrected, fastened the keychain to his backpack and silently vowed to never take it off again.

* * *

**Hope you liked!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	3. No, no, it's my treat

**Gladio getting a drink with his BFF Ignis. Enjoy!**

* * *

Gladio rounded the corner and ran straight into someone. He was barely swayed, but the other person pretty much bounced off him and would've crashed to the ground if not for his quick reflexes that allowed him to grab them by their arms and steady them before they fell.

"Someone appears to be in a hurry."

Ignis, Gladio realized. Whoops.

"Sorry, Iggy. Didn't see you there. You good?"

"Just dandy. I was looking for you, in fact."

"Yeah?" Gladio grinned. "Miss me?"

Ignis breathed out through his nose in a sort-of concealed laugh. "Yes, actually. It has occurred to me that it's been quite a while since we've last had the chance to catch up, so I was wondering if you were free this evening."

"Well, it's not me who's always busy," Gladio pointed out good-naturedly.

Ignis sighed and shifted the folders in his arms in order to bring up his hand and fuss with his glasses. "I know. My apologies."

"No sweat," Gladio waved him off. "Tonight sounds good. Lookin' forward to it!"

Ignis smiled. "As am I. Well then, I'll be on my way. Have a good day."

"Yeah, you too," Gladio said, lifting his hand as a goodbye before he, too, continued his way to the training grounds where he was headed, picking up his pace when he realized he was almost late for training with his dad. Crap. He absolutely did not want to spend his evening running laps again like last time he'd been too late.

A bit winded, he burst out of the changing room once he'd finished putting his training clothes on, glancing at the large clock as he came to a halt in front of his dad and sighed in relief when the hour changed just about two seconds after his arrival.

Clarus glared at him, obviously wanting to say something but unable to since Gladio was not _technically _late. Instead, he lifted his sword and attacked, and Gladio spent the rest of their training trying very hard not to get himself sliced open.

Once they were done - Gladio even received rare words of praise from his father which made him glow with pride for the rest of the day - Gladio was ready to drop, but there was still the meeting with Ignis. It was only late afternoon, but after training with his dad, the plan was usually to go home, lie down on his bed and never move again. He was more than willing to sacrifice that for a meeting with his friend, of course, but that didn't mean that moving didn't fucking hurt.

Ignis had shot him a text while he'd been training and they'd agreed to meet at eight for a drink, so he left after dinner, cursing the fact that he hadn't bothered to get his licence yet. Driving would've been a whole lot less annoying than walking, with the ache that was already persistent in his muscles, but it couldn't be helped now. At least the place wasn't _far_, but maybe he could still annoy Ignis into giving him a ride home later.

Ignis was already there when Gladio arrived, because of course he was. He was sitting at their usual table, not having ordered anything yet. When he spotted Gladio, he lifted his hand in a little wave.

"Hey," Gladio smiled as he heavily plopped down on the chair. "Long time no seen."

"Ah yes. What a couple of dreadful hours it has been without you," Ignis deadpanned, but his mouth twitched with amusement.

Gladio grinned and flagged down a server, and after they'd both ordered their drinks, he leaned forward in his seat a little. "So, how's life been treating you?"

"I've been busy, as always, but Noct has been making an effort to make my life a bit easier lately. He's been doing well in school, and he attempts to read the reports from the Citadel, too, if you can believe it."

"No way. Did someone kidnap and replace him without us noticing?"

"You should give him more credit," Ignis chided. "He still struggles with his reports and usually has me explain them to him afterward. It is not less work, but rather than me doing the work for him, I now do it _with _him. It is… nice."

"I'd bet," Gladio agreed. He'd been noticing an improvement in Noct's training, too. If anything, the kid seemed less eager to piss him off the second he stepped foot onto the training grounds. He still complained, but Gladio couldn't actually remember the last time their training had ended in a shouting match. Huh. "You think that's that Prompto kid's doing?"

Ignis nodded. "Certainly. Prompto is good for him. I am very glad about it."

Gladio took a sip of his drink and hummed. "Yeah, me too. Hey, I don't think I told you yet, but I finally beat Dad for the first time last week."

"Oh? That's fantastic! What did he say?" Ignis asked, sounding both pleasantly surprised and kind of proud.

For the next ten minutes, Gladio launched into the events of last week's training and how his dad had been pushing him extra hard ever since- a wounded pride, Gladio joked.

Ignis asked questions about the techniques Gladio had used, and Gladio answered them, and then the conversation shifted to a different topic. For the next two hours, they chatted comfortably, ordering some more drinks a few times until Ignis called it quits.

"I still have to drive," he explained when Gladio teased him about it despite knowing very well that Ignis could absolutely hold his own in a drinking match against him.

"Yeah, about that. You think you could drop me off at home? I feel like everything hurts, even things that shouldn't be able to hurt."

"Of course. Shall we head home, then?" Ignis suggested.

Gladio nodded. As much fun as the evening had been, he was dead tired. And he had to train some new recruits tomorrow, something that could either be a lot of fun or an absolute pain in the ass depending on how well they ended up doing.

He reached for his jacket to pull out his wallet, but Ignis grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"No, no, it's my treat. I was the one who invited you, after all," he said, placing his own wallet on the table as he got their server's attention.

"Cool, thanks, Iggy," Gladio said and pulled his arm back. "I'll be paying next time, then."

He watched as Ignis paid, then he followed him out to the car. He had to squeeze himself into the passenger seat, groaning when he realized Noct had been the last one to occupy the seat and everything was set for a much smaller person. Damn that prince and his scrawny ass.

"Are you all settled?" Ignis asked mildly after having watched Gladio's struggle with the seat in amusement.

"Yep," Gladio confirmed.

The ride home was silent save for the radio, but Gladio didn't mind. It was a comfortable silence, after all, always was with Ignis.

"Thanks for the ride," he said once Ignis dropped him off in front of the Amicitia residence. "Good night."

"Good night to you too."

Gladio waved to him through the window, and Ignis waved back before he pulled out of the driveway and disappeared into the night.

* * *

**Hope you liked!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	4. Come here, let me fix it

**Hey there, to get myself back into writing, have a chapter for this project. Today's menu is some Noct whump because why not. Yeah basically Aramusha fucked me up good during my playthrough so I thought, why not write it.**

* * *

The Balouve Mines were a complete pain in the ass, and Noct was more than done.

The goblins weren't hard to defeat, but they were really, _really _annoying. Surprisingly clever, too, locking doors right in their faces and tearing through the mine in their carts. At this point, Noct was using attacks way stronger than necessary to defeat these little bastards, he hated them and he wanted them in _pain_.

The downside of the goblins being easy to defeat was that they generated a false sense of security. Sure, they were a nuisance, but not much more than that. There weren't any other daemons either which was unusual, normally these places would be crawling with creatures sometimes not even Specs had heard of before. Unusual, maybe, but Noct wasn't complaining. His ancestors had made it a habit to have their tombs located in the most inaccessible places they could possibly find, maybe the royal arm that was supposedly hidden in these mines was easy to retrieve for a change.

Oh, he couldn't have been further from the truth.

Right at the bottom of this damn mine, there was another of these samurai daemons, fuck knew what it was called. Maybe Specs knew, but Noct couldn't ask him. Partly because he was too busy warping out of the way every time that thing attacked, but mainly because Specs, along with Gladio and Prompto, had been knocked right out with some ridiculously strong strike from the samurai daemon.

Basically, Noct was on his own now. He couldn't stay still for long enough to heal his friends without getting hit himself, and if he got hit too, it was over for all of them. He had no choice but to battle this daemon all by himself.

Just great.

Lamenting the fact that Ignis was down and therefore couldn't come up with a strategy to fight the daemon, Noct resorted to his favourite but unfortunately riskiest technique of warp-striking at an enemy as many times as he could handle it.

The managed to do some damage to it before he had to take a moment to catch his breath and use an elixir to heal his minor wounds and give himself an energy burst to keep warping. He didn't have too many left, though, and even though his warp-strikes did some damage, he'd probably run out of elixirs and ethers before the daemon was dead.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, quickly searching the Armiger for something to use. There were a few flasks of elemental magic left. He didn't know for sure what this particular daemon was weak to, but all the other samurai daemons they had battled in the past had reacted especially negative to lightning. It was worth a shot if nothing else.

He summoned a flask and flung it at the daemon as hard as he could and released a breath of relief when the daemon momentarily went down, spasming with the effects of lightning magic. It was starting to look a little worse for wear in general if Noct wasn't mistaken. He really hoped he wasn't.

Too fast, way more quickly than expected, the daemon was back on its feet and then, faster than Noct could blink, it rushed forward and stabbed him.

Right through the chest.

As if that wasn't enough, it was lifting him up. On the sword that was currently sticking through his chest.

Noct _screamed_. The pain blinded him, his lungs suddenly felt as if they couldn't fit any oxygen in them, and he thought he was going to die right then and there.

He didn't die, regretfully. It would've been better than the pain that followed as it drew the sword back and threw him onto the floor.

As he hit the ground, he screamed a second time, much weaker than the first time but just as anguished. It felt as if the pain was going to drive him insane, but he gathered himself long enough to pull a phoenix down from the Armiger.

A faint sigh of relief escaped him as the magic washed over him and reduced the blinding, all-consuming pain to a more tolerable level. It still hurt like hell, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of literally being skewered alive. That combined with the energy the phoenix down gave him enough strength to reach for another flask and throw it at the daemon.

Whilst it was incapacitated, Noct gathered all his remaining energy and aimed another warp-strike at the thing. It was all or nothing, honestly. Noct knew he wouldn't be able to keep fighting after that, but the daemon was looking kind of wobbly and slowed down. If he was lucky, that last strike would be enough to take it down for good.

His sword connected, he warped, and they both came crashing down onto the ground. The impact made his chest scream with pain and he was left gasping desperately.

Next to him, the daemon let out a horrible screech before it disintegrated into nothing.

_Thank the gods_, Noct thought, because he didn't have the energy to say it out loud. Black spots were eating at his vision, but he couldn't pass out just yet.

Thankfully, Gladio was lying only a few steps away from him. Noct half-crawled towards him, completely undignified, but he really couldn't be bothered to give a shit right now. It took him a few seconds to summon a curative, and once he held it in his hand barely able not to drop it, he gave it to Gladio who regained consciousness with a gasp.

"What- Noct, fuck, what happened to you!?"

"It's fine. I defeated it, not dying anymore. You gotta check on the others, I'm… 'm gonna pass out now, 'kay?" Towards the end, he was starting to slur his words, but he managed to say what he wanted to say before his eyes closed and he was giving in to the exhaustion. Only through a thick fog, he heard Gladio cuss at him, but he really couldn't bring himself to care.

* * *

Being stabbed through the chest, besides horrible pain, a general feeling of disorientation from the blood loss, near heart attacks for your friends once they found out what happened and a near death experience for yourself, unfortunately came with torn clothes.

Noct held out his shirt in front of him, mournfully studying the gaping hole. Damnit. His chest was all fixed up thanks to the phoenix down and whatever else his worried friends had forced upon him post-battle when he'd been unconscious, but sadly, the magic didn't extend to clothes.

"Ugh," he said. He'd _liked _this shirt! Yes, it was just a regular black shirt, but it had fit just right and the fabric had been nice and soft. Somehow, the torn shirt pissed him off even worse than the fact that he'd nearly died.

To his right, the door opened. In came Ignis, carrying two large bags full of groceries. They were staying at Galdin Quay until Noct was well enough to travel again and Ignis was taking full advantage of it by exchanging all sorts of recipes with the local chef and the well equipped kitchen in the hotel room allowed him to try a few of them. Noct was glad he did that, at least that way he wasn't constantly on his case about, well, having almost died.

"I see you're up and about, Highness," Ignis said as he set the bags down and came closer to give Noct a scrutinizing look. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Noct said. It wasn't really a lie. He only felt a little worn out after three days of resting, but he figured he could just let Specs drive (as if Specs let him behind the wheel right now anyway, ha) and squeeze in another nap until they reached their next destination. "We can leave today."

For a moment, Ignis didn't look like he believed him, searching his face for any trace of a lie. When he apparently found none, his gaze fell on Noct's ruined shirt and his eyes softened.

"Come here. Let me fix it." He held out a hand and took the shirt when Noct passed it to him and gave it a once-over. "Hmm. This'll need some work, but I believe I can sew it right up, you won't even notice a difference."

Noct smiled, small but genuine. "Thanks, Iggy."

* * *

**Hope you liked! I've never actually written Noct whump (or whump for any character who wasn't my #1 chara which, in FFXV, would be Iggy), so yeah, this is the result.**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	5. I'll walk you home

**My friend recently got into FFXV and started shipping Prompto and Gladio (among other ships) so while this collection is still very much intended to be platonic, it did remind me that these two boys didn't have a chapter together yet so here we go.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Gladio is almost disappointed when Prompto, after a glance at the large clock at the wall, nearly drops his gun in shock and explains that he should've gone home ages ago.

Since Prompto's going to take the Crownsguard exam this year, Gladio has been tasked with his training. At first, it was kind of weird. Prompto was awkward, clearly terrified of Gladio, a bit clumsy when it came to weapons, and completely untrained.

That last part especially wasn't his fault, but usually, people had at least some basic training when they were paired with Gladio. Even Noct was introduced to some form of training at a very young age, usually coupled with physical therapy after his accident.

But Prompto came to him with absolutely zero understanding of weapons or combat, and so their first couple of lessons were purely theoretical. Teaching the theory to him wasn't difficult. In fact, he was an amazingly quick learner, and it was refreshing to educate someone who would actually listen for a change.

Still, even though the theory was crystal clear, Prompto was obviously not comfortable with the classic weapons. They tried swords and daggers and even a broadsword once, though Prompto had nearly chopped off his own foot when it turned out to be way too heavy for him to lift. So, yeah, weapons didn't work out too well.

Until Gladio let him shoot.

He didn't think much of it at a time, just remembered the guns in the back of the armory and thought, well, why not give it a try. The Glaives he usually trains with all look at guns with scorn and call them 'a coward's weapon', a sentiment Gladio personally doesn't agree with. It takes some serious skill to fire a gun accurately in battle, and if it could save the King's or Noct's life one day, it doesn't matter if someone wields a sword or a gun.

Either way, Gladio decided to let Prompto try himself with a gun. And watched as the kid fired at the targets, completely oblivious to Gladio's delighted grin that grew wider with every shot. It wasn't perfect, Gladio didn't expect it to be. But considering it was the first time Prompto pulled a trigger, it sure was really fucking good.

After that, Gladio would usually him go through some basic training first since he'd still have to prove himself in direct combat, as well as some self-defense because that kid was just so damn scrawny and it only felt right to give him the means to protect himself if needed. And afterwards, he'd let Prompto have fun with the targets and occasionally chime in with some tips.

Now that he found his weapon, Prompto grew more confident during training, would crack a joke every now and then, and was just a walking ray of fucking sunshine in general. Gladio looks forward to training with him every week because it's just impossible to be in a bad mood with Prompto in the room.

Today, Prompto immersed himself completely, focus complete with the tip of his tongue poking out and all, and neither he nor Gladio noticed the time until now.

"Your parents gonna get mad? I can write them a note, say I held you up," Gladio offers.

"No, uh," Prompto says, cheeks red as he scrambles to put the gun away properly and gather his stuff. "I'm just, I think I gotta get that next bus or there won't be any until tomorrow morning."

Gladio frowns and looks at the clock. He has no idea what the bus schedule is like, perks of being nobility, but considering the time Prompto usually leaves… "When's that bus leaving, exactly?"

Prompto looks up barely long enough to glance at the clock, too busy shoving his street clothes into his bag. "In, oh shit, in like, exactly two minutes."

Two minutes to pack up and get to the bus station on the other side of the citadel. Yeah, sure. Gladio rolls his eyes and goes to tower over Prompto with his arms crossed. "Look, you're not gonna catch that bus. And it's cold out, if you go home in your gym clothes, you'll get sick."

Prompto throws another pleading look to the clock as if that would somewhat make it run more slowly, but then he slumps and sits back on his heels in defeat. "I… ah, shit, you're right. Guess I gotta walk home, then."

"Can't your parents pick you up or something?"

Something flashes in Prompto's eyes and almost makes Gladio wish he didn't ask. It's gone very quickly, though, and when he answers it's in his usual cheerful voice.

"They're on a business trip, they won't be home for a while. It's fine, though. I'll just walk and call it extra exercise."

"You don't need extra exercise after more than three hours of training," Gladio points out.

He mentally goes through the list of people with a car and a license, someone who could pick Prompto up and deliver him to his home safe and sound. It's not a surprise who the first person who comes to his mind is.

"I can call Iggy, I'm sure he'll drive you home," he says. He knows Iggy will drive Prompto home, recently he's started mothering him almost as bad as he does with Noct.

Prompto shakes his head, determined. "No! Noct said it's his day off today! I can't disturb him on his day off!"

Gladio thinks Ignis would drive Prompto anywhere even if he were on his honeymoon or whatever, but fine, he's not about to make Prompto feel guilty by calling him if he doesn't want to. Also, he kinda has a point, Iggy deserves to chill on his rare off days.

Jared would be an option, but it's pretty late so he's technically off duty now. Would be kind of a dick move to drag him out of the house and make him play driver at this hour.

He's already familiar with Prompto' stance against taking any kind of financial aid from his friends, so he doesn't even try to offer to call and pay for a cab, either.

"Well, guess we have no choice. I'll walk you home," he decides. "Don't want your scrawny ass kidnapped or anything. But first, you gotta throw on some warmer clothes because I won't put up with you if you get sick."

"You don't have to walk me home!" Prompto protests. He looks very flustered and Gladio thinks it's hilarious.

"Well, tough titties, I'm doing it anyway. Clothes, c'mon."

Gladio marches towards the changing rooms and pretends he doesn't notice the look of gratitude and relief Prompto gives him.

* * *

**Hey, would you look at that, a chapter without Iggy. That's rare. I couldn't go the entire chapter without mentioning though, I'm sure you understand.**

**Hope you liked!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or your fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	6. Have a good day at work

**SOMEONE called me out for apparently being unable to not include Iggy for more than 800 words. I want to argue, but then I look at this chapter which is, once again, Iggy. And then I look at my concepts for the next few chapters, and there is also a lot of Iggy. So I just accept that judgement and give you some Iggy with his boys, enjoy!**

* * *

Ignis glanced at his watch again and sighed impatiently. "Noct, please do get up. You'll be late for school."

From below the blankets that covered a vaguely prince-shaped lump came a groan of great misery.

At such dramatic antics, Ignis could only roll his eyes, but he did smile in amusement when Noct finally rolled off the mattress with the most impressive bed-head Ignis had seen in a while.

The prince dragged himself towards the bathroom with excruciating slowness, but at the window, he stopped to look outside with a frown.

"Something the matter, Highness?"

"Can we pick Prompto up today?" Noct asked, now slightly more awake and his brain apparently in working order. "It's raining and his first bus is often late so he misses his second bus and has to walk all the way to school and he's gonna be soaking wet by the time he gets there."

Ignis blinked before a knowing smile pulled at his lips. "Of course. You'll just have to let me know where he lives."

Not that Ignis didn't technically know Prompto's address. It had been part of the background check they'd done as soon as he had entered Noct's life, of course. But Ignis had a feeling Noct wouldn't appreciate his extensive knowledge about his friend, so it was probably for the best to feign ignorance.

Noct paused. "Uh…"

"You don't know where he lives?"

"I've never been to his place!" Noct was quick to defend himself, even though it hadn't been an accusation at all.

"Would you mind asking him, then? And perhaps inform him that we'll pick him up, too? We wouldn't want to miss him," Ignis said as he collected a few stray textbooks from the table in the living room. He attempted to pack them into Noct's bag, only to frown in distaste as he found yesterday's empty lunch box in the bag. "Noct, how many times have I asked you to unpack your lunch box and give it to me so I can clean it before it starts walking around?"

Noct grumbled something and didn't even bother looking up from his phone. He was most likely acting on Ignis' suggestion to text Prompto, though, so Ignis let it go.

Finally, Noct tossed the phone onto the couch and disappeared into the bathroom. It didn't take him long to reemerge, put on some semi-clean clothes and look at Ignis like he was about to be led to his own execution. "Okay, I'm good to go."

"Did Prompto give you his address?" Ignis asked. He herded Noct out of the door and towards the car once he'd made sure the door was locked properly. It was raining heavily now, Prompto would indeed be soaked if he had to walk to school today.

Noct shook his head. "Said he doesn't want you to have to drive all the way to his house. I told him it's no problem, but he wants to take his first bus and meet us at the bus station."

He didn't sound very pleased with Prompto's decision, Ignis noted with fondness. Despite his aloof attitude, Noct cared a lot, and the thought of Prompto potentially ending up wet and cold was obviously bothering him.

"Well then, let's not keep him waiting."

Traffic was rather slow, as usual at this time of the day. But since Ignis always bullied Noct out of bed ahead of time, they still made it to the bus station before Prompto's bus arrived.

Prompto's eyes lit up when he stepped out of the bus and saw Ignis' car. He hurried over, hoodless jacket pulled over his head and careful not to step in the puddles.

"Hey!" he said cheerfully when he plopped down in the backseat next to Noct. "Thanks for picking me up. You didn't have to, but still, thanks!"

"Not at all," Ignis said mildly. Soon, Prompto's excited chatter and Noct's tired replies filled the car and Ignis tuned them out to focus on the road.

They reached the school about twenty minutes before class started, a fact Noctis regularly complained about. Those were twenty more minutes he could spend sleeping, he'd whine, but Ignis wasn't about to show any mercy. Not if it meant Noct got to school in time, anyway.

Thankfully, the rain had died down a bit so the boys wouldn't get too wet on the way to the school building. Still, Ignis advised them to take the large umbrella that was stored in the car and that was big enough to fit both Noct and Prompto under it, in case the weather got worse throughout the day.

"Have a good day at school," he said once they had collected their belongings and were ready to go.

"Thanks. Bye, Specs."

"Thanks, Iggy! Uh, you too! Have a good day at work, I mean."

Ignis smiled. "I'll try. Now, get inside before you get wet after all."

He watched them hurry inside, huddled beneath that big umbrella, before he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the Citadel.

* * *

**Honestly, Noct in the morning is such a mood. Mornings make me want to shrivel up and die. I 100% empathize with him. And I'd absolutely flip my shit if anyone were to get me up 20 minutes earlier than required. Though if it were Iggy waking me up, it might be acceptable. Maybe.**

**Hope you liked!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or your fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	7. I dreamt about you last night

**What's up lads, inspiration struck so I present to you, some goddamn heartbreak. This chapter is Ignis & Noctis, world of ruin. Enjoy your meal.**

* * *

Noct barely has time to climb out of Talcott's truck, still unsteady and with shaky muscles, before Prompto is in front of him and throws his arms around him. He squeezes him so hard it almost hurts, but Noct doesn't mind. He hugs back just as fiercely and for a moment, they just cling to each other.

"You're back. I can't believe you're back," Prompto whispers in Noct's ear. He sounds like he's trying to convince himself Noct is real, but there's something else in his voice that makes Noct wonder if he knows.

The very second he parts from Prompto, a heavy hand lands on his shoulder and he's facing Gladio.

"Look at you! All grown up!" He squeezes Noct's shoulder and yanks him against his broad chest that somehow seems to have gotten even broader over the past ten years, what the fuck.

"Good to have you back," Gladio rumbles and leaves his arms around Noct for a tad longer than he would have ten years ago.

Noct really can't say he minds.

Last, there's Ignis. In between hugging Prompto and Gladio, Noct couldn't get a good look at him yet. But now he takes a moment to study his appearance and can't quite keep his eyes from lingering on Ignis' scars.

They're faded, nothing like the freshly healed wounds all these years ago, but it's obvious they'll always be visible. Briefly, Noct wonders how long it took for them to properly heal, for the pain to pass. He wonders for how long Ignis had to suffer.

He swallows the lump in his throat and steps forward. "Specs. It's good to see you."

Ignis reaches out, fingers brushing against Noct's cheek. His eyes aren't visible behind the visor he wears now, and Noct knows they'd be empty, unseeing, but he remembers the fond look Ignis used to give him so perfectly as if he were receiving it right now.

"I dreamt about you last night. I saw you return, I saw-" Ignis says, barely louder than a whisper and his voice breaks. "You look so much like your father."

Noct blinks in surprise. He hasn't exactly had access to a mirror yet, but if Ignis says he looks like his dad, then it must be true. The thought of his father makes his chest ache, but he knows he can't dwell on these emotions right now.

"You put on the ring, didn't you. Back in Altissia. It's how you lost your eyesight," he says. It's not a question. He's just asking Ignis to confirm what he already knows.

"I did."

Gladio and Prompto don't look surprised at the confession. Maybe Ignis told them at some point, or maybe they figured it out on their own. It doesn't really matter, anyway.

"You believe it could be magic left over from the ring?" Ignis asks.

"Yeah. It'd make sense, right? The ring is powerful enough, that must be it."

But in the end, it isn't really important how Ignis knew. What's important is the task that lies ahead. Noct dreads it, but even more, he dreads having to tell his friends about his fate. How do you tell those who love you, the people you love more than life itself, that you are to die for the sake of mankind?

There isn't an answer to that, not really. And… Noct wants to pretend, just a little longer. He knows he has to tell them, just not yet.

Despite having spent ten years doing absolutely nothing, Noct is exhausted, and so they decide to stay in the caravan at Hammerhead for a few hours before leaving for Insomnia to let him sleep.

But even though Noct feels bone-weary, sleep doesn't come. Gladio and Prompto are actually asleep before him, which almost makes him laugh. But judging from the way he's breathing, Iggy isn't asleep yet, either.

A few minutes later, when Noct is almost ready to give up on sleep altogether, he hears the rustling of Ignis' sheets as he gets up and quietly leaves the caravan.

Noct doesn't think before he slips out of bed as well and steps outside to look for Ignis.

He finds him only a few steps away, sitting at the table in front of the caravan, and for a moment it almost feels like they're back on their journey ten years ago. Almost, but Noct can't shake the awful knowledge of what is to come.

"Hey," he says and joins Ignis at the table. "Can't sleep?"

"So it would appear," Ignis sighs. "Today has been eventful."

"Tell me about it. Nothing like crawling out of a crystal after ten years, right?" Noct snorts at his own joke. It sounds pretty surreal, after all.

Ignis smiles. "I can only imagine."

"Talcott said you're fighting again?"

"I am." Ignis' tone is nonchalant, but Noct doesn't miss the pride that lies beneath it. "I daresay I fight better in the dark than most."

Noct laughs. "That's so cool. Do you remember that superhero guy from these comics Prompto and I used to read? You're basically him now."

Ignis arches an eyebrow in that way that means he's judging Noct hard and says, completely dry, "Why, thank you. Being cool was my only goal."

They're both grinning now and probably looking pretty stupid, but Noct doesn't care. He wants to cling to this sense of normalcy and familiarity for as long as he can.

But then, of course, Ignis speaks again, and the lightheartedness is entirely gone from his voice.

"Noct, I…," he says, falters, then tries again. "I know. About… the prophecy. About your fate. And I can't-"

Noct's heart breaks along with Ignis' voice. He hates that Iggy knows, he wants to know for how long he's known but he doesn't want to hear the answer. He doesn't want to hear it, because he knows it already. He doesn't want to hear for how long Ignis has been living with the knowledge of Noct's fate.

He still forces himself to ask. "How?"

"Pryna," Ignis replies. "Back in Altissia, Ravus and I reached the Altar right before she died. She delivered a vision to me. I- I saw you die."

Since Altissia. Ignis has known since Altissia, he's been living with this knowledge all this time. Now, Noct also understands why Ignis approached him, back then when they were still recovering in the Leville, and he asked him if he really wanted to carry on with this journey.

Noct makes a choked noise. He wonders if Iggy's been carrying this burden all by himself, or if he's told the others at some point, but he doesn't ask.

"Your dream last night, did you…"

"Yes," Ignis confirms, sounding hollow and so unlike the Ignis he knows. "I saw you die once again."

And there's really nothing Noct can say that would express everything he's feeling. Fear, guilt, resentment. He's feeling a lot, and he doesn't have the right words, and so he says, "I'm sorry."

Ignis shakes his head. "No, I'm sorry. We're sorry. We vowed to stand by you, yet in the end, we fail."

Noct is aware of the tears that gather in his eyes, but he pays them no mind. "It's not failing! You vowed to stand by me, you can still make good on that promise. Stand by me until the very end. Please."

Ignis is crying too. Tears are streaming down his face, but his voice is steady as always when he speaks again. "Of course, Noct. We will remain right by your side, no matter what."

Smiling through the tears, Noct asks, "You got my back?"

"Always."

* * *

**I fixed the reunion, there are now hugs. Also, the comic refers to Daredevil. Iggy is Daredevil, sorry I don't make the rules.**

**I made myself so very sad writing this. The nature of this collection makes it very tempting to just focus on the bright, fluffy parts of the game, but since we all obviously love pain if we love this game, here we are. Will I ever get over this bullshit? Probably not. But that's a good thing because it means I can just be here writing FFXV fics for eternity.**

**Let's see if we can manage something without Iggy in the next chapter. Because my bias is clearly showing I think. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or your fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	8. Take my seat

***kicks down door* whaddup lads, here's some boiz. The inevitable sickfic, and since this is a collection written by yours truly, probably not the last sickfic to come. For now, enjoy Prompto and Gladio being miserable!**

* * *

In theory, Noct knew that Prompto had a pollen allergy. It wasn't as severe as Gladio's, who kept sneezing during pollen season even with his meds, so Noct had really only witnessed it once. Prompto had showed up in school with red, teary eyes, a raspy voice, and wearing a pair of glasses instead of contacts like usual. As it turned out, he hadn't realized he'd run out of his medication and couldn't buy any before school started.

Noct had felt pretty bad for him back then. Apparently, so had the teacher. Prompto made it through exactly one and a half lessons that day before he was sent home. But aside from that one time, Prompto was usually fine with his meds. It'd been long enough for Noct to pretty much forget about the allergy.

That was why it kinda came as a shock when they ran out of antihistamines and both Gladio and Prompto had to deal with the consequences.

There was an issue with the delivery, the cashier at the gas station informed them. He was very apologetic about it, but that didn't change the fact that they couldn't get any meds, not even at any other store since they were all affected by the missing delivery. Not unless they located the delivery truck that was apparently lost somewhere along the way, as it seemed to happen pretty often these days.

Grimacing in sympathy at the thought of his friends who were currently waiting in the car, Noct told the guy they'd handle it, waited for Ignis to pay for his three packs of Ebony, and trudged back to the car to inform the other two about the problem.

"Ugh," Prompto said, voice stuffy and rough.

Gladio just sneezed in agreement.

Overall, they both looked pretty miserable, Gladio more so than Prompto. Noct liked to tease him about it, how he could take a sword through the chest no problem but some tiny little pollen were enough to render him useless. Looking at him now, he didn't have the heart to. His Shield was slumped in the backseat, eyes closed in an attempt to ease the burning and itching a bit, but it probably didn't help much. He'd given up on talking hours ago, it'd just make his already raw throat hurt worse. It was a pretty heart-wrenching sight, really.

Prompto was doing a little better. His allergy wasn't as severe, but he was visibly suffering too. He was still talking, not as much as normally but still in his usual cheerful tone. He wasn't really fooling anyone. He didn't look like he could fool anyone, either. His fair complexion let the redness around his eyes and nose seem more severe than Gladio's tanned skin. Not even the glasses he was wearing did anything to hide it. Every now and then, he'd sneeze and sniffle and then carry on with the conversation as if nothing was wrong.

Noct opened the door to the backseat and moved to get it, but then he hesitated. "Hey, Prompto. Take my seat. More room in the back. You can lie down or something," he said, casually.

Prompto looked like he wanted to protest, but then he smiled weakly but with gratitude. "You know what? That sounds great, actually."

Slowly, he peeled himself out of the passenger seat and shuffled around the car. "The Prince of Lucis holds the door open for me. I'm honored!" he joked. The effect was kind of lost when he sneezed immediately after, though.

Noct rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah, just get in and shut up."

Prompto tried to wink at him, which didn't work all that well with his teary eyes, and climbed into the backseat next to Gladio. He didn't even bother sitting up properly. Instead, he dropped his head into Gladio's lap and sighed in relief.

"This okay, big guy?" he rasped, looking like he was very unlikely to move even if Gladio told him to get off.

Of course, Gladio did not tell him to get off. He just hummed in agreement and dropped his big hand onto Prompto's stomach.

Noct threw them another glance before he walked over to the passenger seat. It didn't look like they were gonna move or speak or look vaguely alive anytime soon, so it was probably best to just leave them alone.

"Seems like it's up to us now, huh, Specs?" he said

"Indeed," Ignis replied and took a sip from his coffee. "I do hope whatever foes await us aren't too strong for us to fight by ourselves."

Noct shrugged. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Gonna show these two we can handle things without them."

The cashier hadn't been able to provide much information about the truck's whereabouts. The only thing they had to work with was the route it was supposed to take, but there was no way of knowing where exactly it got stuck. That meant they had to drive the whole route and hope they were able to locate the truck somewhere.

For several hours, they drove, without any trace of the truck. Noct was starting to feel _really _bad for Prompto and Gladio. Aside from the occasional sneezing, they weren't making any noise, and it was hard to tell if they were asleep or not. For their sake, Noct kind of hoped they were.

After a while, it started to rain. Whilst Noct normally wasn't keen on getting wet when running around in the woods, he was now grateful for it. The rain would wash away some of the pollen in the air, hopefully making his friends a little less miserable. Still, that damn truck had better show up soon.

He was just about to voice his frustration to Ignis when dark tracks on the road near the Fallgrove caught his attention. "Specs, you see that?"

"I do. Let's have a look, shall we?"

"Mm. That better be our truck," Noct agreed. "Think these two are gonna be fine while we're gone?"

He glanced at the backseat, but he still couldn't tell if they were awake. Ah, well. He'd just lock the car, they'd be alright.

The truck had probably been hauled off by daemons, but it was easy to follow the path of broken twigs, flattened grass, and the deep, very obvious tracks the wheels had left.

Noct groaned when he spotted the truck, surrounded by hundlegs. "Can't anything be easy for once? Specs, how do we do this?"

"Hit and don't get hit yourself."

"Very helpful. Let's do this."

An annoying but not particularly hard fight, a couple of potions, and a couple more antidotes later, the only things left of the hundlegs were their, well, legs.

Noct gathered them and dismissed them into the Armiger to sell later and walked up to the truck.

"Seems like the cargo is fine."

"The driver wasn't so lucky," Ignis commented.

"Yeah…"

The truck driver's tragic fate dampened Noct's mood considerably. He just wanted to get this over with. Gather the supplies, get back to Gladio and Prompto and stuff them with meds until they felt better. Fortunately, Ignis seemed to agree. They emptied the truck quickly and without much talking, and soon they were back by the Regalia.

Noct's plan had been to give Prompto and Gladio the pills as soon as they returned, but now they were definitely asleep. He stared at them for a moment, considering if he should wake them. No, he thought, it could wait until they were at the motel they'd definitely be staying at tonight.

The sun was already low, so he and Ignis hurried to load everything into the car and head for the nearest motel before the daemons came out. Delivering the supplies to a gas station could wait until tomorrow, Noct decided, selfishly. Like hell he'd make Gladio and Prompto sit in that car any longer than necessary.

If Ignis pushed the speed limit a bit, neither of them said anything about it. As the last sunbeams were starting to disappear, they finally reached the motel, just in time before nightfall.

Noct rounded the car and opened the door on Prompto's side whilst Ignis did the same on Gladio's side. "Prompto. C'mon, rise and shine. We're at the motel, you can go back to sleep in a minute."

Prompto blinked and muttered something Noct didn't catch. He didn't seem entirely awake, so Noct helped him out of the car and half-carried him to the motel. He wondered if that was how the others felt when they tried to wake him up in the morning.

Ignis had gone ahead and paid for their rooms. He'd left Gladio in the car once it'd become clear he wouldn't be up and walking on his own anytime soon, but now he was hauling him out with some effort. Noct didn't exactly envy him; he was already struggling to support a nearly limp Prompto.

Eventually, they dragged their pretty much unresponsive friends into the room and deposited them in one of the two double beds.

"Here, take this," Noct said once he caught his breath, handing Prompto his medication. When Prompto barely managed to hold onto the pill, Noct didn't even try to give him the glass of water. It was easier to just hold it for him, he thought.

He made Prompto drink the entire glass before he was satisfied and let him burrow into the blankets and pillows and Gladio.

"Gladio all set?" he asked, turning to see if Ignis needed help, but Ignis just brushed his hand through Gladio's hair and straightened up.

"All set," he confirmed. "We'd best head off to bed as well."

Noct all but collapsed onto the other bed, not even bothering to take off his clothes. "Oh yes, definitely. Night, Specs."

Of course, Ignis bullied him into getting up again and changing out of his clothes after all, but it still wasn't even five minutes later that he fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed.

He definitely deserved it.

* * *

**Prompto with glasses, anyone?**

**Gladio's pollen allergy seems to be pretty much accepted as canon from the way he randomly sneezes in the game, so I was more than happy to hop onto the bandwagon AND drag Prompto down with him. **  
**I am so very glad I don't have a pollen allergy, let me tell you. I wear contacts and when it is Pollen Time™ these tiny little assholes like to land on my contacts and chill there all day. It is very itchy and very unpleasant. To imagine there's people who have to deal with allergies... uhhh yeah, no. Y'all have my utmost respect and sympathy. Thoughts and prayers my dudes, thoughts and prayers.**

**Hope you liked!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or your fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	9. I saved a piece for you

**Hey there! This chapter is set... after Brotherhood I guess, but pre-game, basically Noct and Gladio are already buddies. So. Here's some Gladio and Noct, because we haven't had that yet in this collection. Enjoy!**

* * *

There were few things Noct hated more than fancy events he had to attend. Maybe vegetables. Vegetables and fancy events were probably about the same level of horrible. Right now, he ranked fancy events even above the vegetables, mainly because he was currently headed to one of these events with only Gladio for company.

Cor was driving them to some tiny little kingdom that held its annual festivities and insisted on the King of Lucis attending. Noct didn't even know whose idea it had been to drag him along, which was fortunate for them because he might have tried to have it count as treason. It should definitely count as treason, it was basically Torture of the Crown Prince after all.

Alright, so maybe he was being a bit dramatic. But he knew from experience that these events were usually horrible. Boring, exhausting, and full of shallow, stuck-up nobility and politicians and whatnot. They all tried to have conversations with him because it was good for their prestige if they were seen talking to him, and he had to act like he didn't hate every second of it.

Sometimes, when it was his dad hosting an event, he got to drag Prompto along, and Ignis would be there too, which made it at least a bit more bearable. But this time, it was in a foreign country and didn't call for either a civilian or his advisor to attend, which was why he only got Gladio to share his misery.

Except, Gladio didn't even look all that miserable about it. If anything, he enjoyed making fun of Noct for having to attend and didn't seem to mind having to go himself all that much. Then again, he wasn't required to talk to anyone like Noct was. Gladio's only job was to stand beside him and look intimidating. That wasn't half as horrible as having to play nice all evening.

So, yes, this whole thing was deeply unfair. Noct shot a glare at Gladio who was sitting next to him in the backseat, but it went unnoticed as Gladio was too engrossed in his stupid book.

Noct sighed and pulled out his phone, alternating between texting Prompto and playing King's Knight for the rest of the ride.

* * *

"Don't even think about it," Gladio said as Noct longingly eyed the flutes of champagne across the room.

"Why not?" Noct argued, even though he knew exactly why.

Gladio rolled his eyes. "Try again when you're legal."

Ugh.

At least Gladio wasn't drinking either. Gladio never drank on the job, which was… technically always. So basically Gladio never drank, period. Either way, it meant Noct wasn't the only one who had to endure this whilst sober.

His dad, on the other hand, was happily drinking the champagne that was offered to him. He still looked and acted more regal than Noct could ever hope to be, but there was the tiniest blush on his cheeks that definitely came from the alcohol. Seemed like he didn't really want to be here, either. Ha. Served him right for dragging his poor son along.

Trying very hard not to look like he hated everyone and everything, Noct made his way over to the buffet. There would be cake, and that would just make this night a bit more bearable.

Gladio followed suit, looming behind him like a shadow.

He was almost at the buffet - and had discovered an amazing looking cake with fruit and stuff and he really, really wanted it - when he saw someone rapidly approach him.

"Shit," he muttered and tried to escape, but Gladio grabbed the back of his jacket and said, "Oh no, you don't."

"Traitor," he hissed at Gladio, just before the guy came to stand right in front of him, way too close - seriously, what about personal space - and reeking of way too much cologne.

"Prince Noctis!" he exclaimed and immediately launched into an introduction followed by some nonsense Noct was pretty good at tuning out. It was enough to smile, nod politely, and occasionally giving a noise of agreement. He knew that from experience; most of these nobles loved to hear themselves talk and didn't actually care what he had to say.

The guy - Noct had already forgotten his name or what he did - talked and talked and didn't appear like he was going to stop soon. Every time he shut up for a moment and Noct thought he was finally free, it turned out the dude was just taking a breath to dive right back into his tale. Or the next tale. Or the tale after the next tale.

Noct was going to die.

He tried to shuffle away a few times, closer to the buffet because he still wanted that cake, but the man just followed and got back into Noct's personal space right away.

If only Ignis were here, Noct thought wistfully. Ignis would take mercy on him and come up with a smooth way to get him out of this conversation. But Gladio enjoyed seeing him suffer, the sadistic asshole. There was no way he was helping him escape; he was probably enjoying himself way too much right now.

By the time the man finally, _finally _shut up and left, Noct thought his face was going to fall off from all the fake smiling. He watched as the man walked away, half-expecting him to turn around and come back to ramble at him once more. But as it turned out, the reason why he was leaving was that he'd discovered Noct's dad nearby. Of course. The only thing worth more than being seen talking to a prince was being seen talking to a king.

Noct caught his father's eye and gave him a shit-eating grin, to which his dad responded with an eyebrow raised in confusion right before the man reached him. By the time understanding and dread dawned on his face, it was already too late to leave.

Laughing to himself, Noct turned around to finally get himself some of that cake- only to find that the platter was empty.

"What. The fuck," he said.

"Language, _your Highness_."

Gladio sounded way too fucking gleeful, and Noct spun around, ready to give him a piece of his mind. That prick from before had really talked at him long enough for everyone else to eat all the cake, the only thing that would've made this evening a bit better, and Gladio had the nerve to laugh at him after leaving him at that guy's mercy for fuck knew how long.

He opened his mouth. And closed it again when a plate was shoved into his hands. A plate with a slice of fruity cake.

The way he stared at it was probably pretty dumb. At least Gladio seemed to think so, judging from the way he was laughing at him again. But this time, Noct couldn't even be mad at him.

"I saved a piece for you. Saw how you were ogling that cake. I'm not a monster," Gladio said, and after watching Noct with a grin for a while, "You could say thanks, you know."

Noct _would _have said thanks, but, well. His mouth was full of cake.

* * *

**Sometimes I wonder why everyone views Ignis as the stuck-up one, when he's actually canonically the one who snuck out with Noct when they were kids and who lets Noct get away with so many things, whilst Gladio insists on him taking responsibility and all... this is NOT anything against Gladio, I love and would die for Gladio, but I just think it's funny ^^**

**Anyway! I have this headcanon that Gladio doesn't drink alcohol, because what if Noct gets attacked and Gladio's reflexes are off because he's tipsy? Absolutely cannot happen, therefore Gladio doesn't drink, because he's Noct's Shield at all times, no exceptions.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or your fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	10. I'm sorry for your loss

**Would you look at that, that's 1/10th of the story. Enjoy! (This one's Gladio & Prompto during the road trip)**

* * *

"Hey, where are you going?" Prompto asked when Gladio opened the caravan door and took his jacket with him.

It was evening, but not quite bedtime yet. Noct was already curled up in one of the tiny beds with his back turned towards them. He wasn't asleep yet, Prompto could tell, but he didn't say anything.

Ignis was tapping away at his phone but looked up when Prompto addressed Gladio.

"Just…" Gladio said, making a vague gesture with his hands. "I'll be back soon."

"Don't stray too far. The daemons get awfully close to inhabited areas these days," Ignis said, but he didn't try to stop Gladio so it was probably alright.

Gladio nodded and left, closing the door behind him with just a tad too much noise.

Prompto turned to Ignis. "Is he okay?"

"It is… difficult to be completely okay in times like these," Ignis replied, not really easing Prompto's worries.

"I guess…" Prompto sighed. He pulled out his phone to play some King's Knight, but he couldn't really focus on it so he soon put it away and stood.

"I'm gonna-" he announced, gesturing much like Gladio before, and slipped out too without waiting for a reaction.

It didn't take long for him to find Gladio. He was sitting on the bench outside the Crow's Nest, looking angry and sad and more lost than Prompto had ever seen him, and he absolutely hated it.

"Hey. Care for some company? Only if you want to, I can leave if you'd rather be alone," he hurried to add. He didn't want Gladio to feel obliged to let him stay, but something about Gladio being like this just felt so very wrong and he very much wanted to fix it.

"No, it's fine. You can stay."

Prompto sat down on the bench, not quite close enough for their shoulders to touch, but close enough to make his presence obvious.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

Gladio's jaw clenched as he seemed to debate with himself, but then his shoulders slumped and he leaned his head back against the wall.

"My dad."

Dread, shame, and guilt hit Prompto like a punch in the gut. Of course. If the King had fallen, that meant his Shield had been broken. That thought was already terrible enough on its own but became way worse when he replaced _Shield _with _Gladio's dad._ But he hadn't even thought of it, too preoccupied with Noct's dad being dead and the general fucked up-ness of the whole situation to consider the other people who died.

"Shit, Gladio. I'm sorry for your loss, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Gladio said softly. He sounded tired. Gladio never sounded tired. "I grew up with the idea. I accepted it."

Prompto stared at the ground before him, trying not to think about how horrible of a thing that was, especially for a kid. "But that doesn't really make it easier, does it? I mean, I can't imagine it does."

Gladio was silent for a long time, but when he replied, he wasn't just admitting it to Prompto but to himself as well. "No, not really."

Prompto, to make up for the lack of something to say to comfort Gladio, leaned into Gladio's side a bit and hoped he wasn't overstepping a boundary.

"I'm just glad Iris is safe," Gladio said, making no attempt to push him away. "And that I'm older than her. That I'm the Shield, not her. I'm not sure I could bear the thought. There… weren't many Shields who died of old age in the past."

Prompto nodded. "A King dying before his Shield is shameful, right?"

Even after being friends with Noct for years, Prompto was still trying to get the hang of all the royal business. But one thing he had understood pretty quickly was that honor was a pretty damn big deal.

"It's the greatest shame," Gladio confirmed. "If anything short of an illness or age kills a King, the Shield has to be killed first. Being a Shield who failed is a fate worse than death."

The way Gladio said it, solemn but detached, sent shivers down Prompto's spine. That sounded like such a big burden to bear, and to have a child carry it from the day they were born was… Prompto couldn't even imagine how that felt.

"Do you think everyone at the Citadel was killed? I mean. What about Iggy's uncle? You think he survived?" he asked, trying to change the subject but accidentally directing it in an equally depressing topic. Damn.

Gladio shook his head. "Dunno about everyone, but I think Iggy's been trying to reach his uncle. No luck yet, so I don't think he made it." He paused. "Shit, what about your parents?"

Surprised, Prompto blinked before he processed Gladio's words. "Oh, don't worry, they're fine. They weren't in Insomnia during the attack. They extended their trip so they were only gonna come home sometime next week anyway."

Gladio's eyes narrowed. "Did you talk to them yet?"

"Not… exactly," Prompto admitted, squirming under Gladio's observant gaze. "I texted them to tell them I'm okay and tried to call them, but they didn't pick up. They texted back, it's fine. Really."

"It isn't," Gladio insisted. "They don't deserve you."

With a nervous laugh, Prompto turned away a little so Gladio couldn't see the redness on his cheeks. "Yeah, well. I've got you guys, so I'm good."

"You sure do," Gladio said. That terrible look from before was almost gone now and he finally looked like Gladio again. "We should go back inside and get some sleep."

"Yep," Prompto agreed and let Gladio pull him up from the bench.

* * *

**Y'all ever think about how Gladio is a shield destined to fail and how much guilt it'll cause him and he's been raised for this impossible task since he was born and then you have to lie down for a bit? Yeah.**

**I'm also on Twitter ( Butterfly_OnIce) and Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad), and even on Discord too (thisfairytalegonebad#2939) and I'm always happy to chat, about my fics or your fics or these boys or literally anything!**


	11. You can have half

**Man, it's been way too long since I updated this. Didn't help that I've been stuck at this prompt simply because I couldn't come up with anything I thought was original enough. It still isn't, this is just pure silly. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Noct shivered. Pulled his jacket around himself more tightly and snuck a glance at Prompto. Returned his attention to his phone and narrowly avoided getting his avatar killed. Shivered again.

Why was it so damn cold, anyway?

They'd rented the caravan at the outpost right by the waterfall Talcott had told them about. It was already pretty late and with the sun, all warmth had completely disappeared. At first, it had been a welcome change from the heat back in Lestallum, but now it was just annoying. It wouldn't have been so bad if they could've just sat inside the caravan until the food was ready, but they'd kind of pissed Ignis off earlier that day and he'd all but kicked them out so he could cook in peace.

Gladio was off buying supplies from the gas station, having wisely fled the scene as soon as they'd arrived. Noct supposed years of working together with Ignis had resulted in some sort of sixth sense for when it was better to leave. Not that it was very hard right now to figure out Ignis should be avoided for the time being even without a sixth sense. Point was, Gladio had volunteered to do the shopping and fucked off before anyone else had the chance, so Noct and Prompto had nothing better to do than to play King's Knight in the freezing cold.

Even worse, Noct was the only one freezing his ass off, because today, all his friends seemed to be smarter than him. Prompto, right before Specs kicked them out, had snatched a blanket from one of the beds and dragged it outside just in time to avoid getting it trapped in the caravan door when Ignis slammed it shut.

And now, the bastard was snugly wrapped in his blanket without a care in the world, while Noct was about to become a royal popsicle. How was that fair?

The answer was, it was not fair. It was not fair at all, and Noct wondered if it could be considered treason to let your king freeze to death. Maybe even regicide. He'd have to look into it later.

"It's cold," he voiced his complaints.

Prompto didn't even look up, the traitor. "Yeah, I mean. There's an ice cave like, right below us. Wouldn't expect it to be warm."

"Yeah, well, I don't like it."

Prompto shrugged. "You don't have to like it, buddy. But that won't make it any warmer."

Noct groaned, loud and dramatic because of course Prompto had to try and use _reason _on him, but Prompto seemed utterly unimpressed. And he especially didn't even seem to consider giving up the blanket for Noct, either, which was even worse.

With an unhappy frown, Noct looked at his phone again, but his fingers were reaching a point where they were almost too clammy to properly play. Also, his battery was almost empty, no doubt draining faster due to the cold, so he reluctantly turned it off and clumsily shoved it into his pocket.

Heaving a sigh, he lifted his gaze to eye Prompto and his blanket again, only to find Prompto staring at him and trying very hard not to grin. It wasn't really working; the left corner of his mouth was twitching comically.

"What," Noct snapped.

"Bet you're real envious of my blanket just about now, aren't you?"

Noct gritted his teeth, mainly to stop them from chattering embarrassingly. "Shut up."

The bell at the shop door across the street dinged as Gladio shouldered it open and marched over to the caravan, looking in a way too good mood considering Ignis was pissed and an ice age was about to begin.

"Watch this," he grinned, waving an entire case of Ebony at them. He opened the caravan door and called, louder than necessary so Prompto and Noct were bound to hear it too, "Hey, Iggy, I got you something!"

"He doesn't really think it's that easy, right?" Prompto laughed, leaning forward in anticipation of getting to watch Gladio getting physically thrown out of the caravan. Or stabbed in the face. Or maybe even both, depending on how bad Iggy's mood still was.

The door was closed again. With Gladio still inside. And no sounds of any face-stabbing coming from inside. Instead, there was normal, civil conversation, too quiet to understand from outside but definitely not at all murderous.

Incredulously, Prompto turned towards Noct. "Ignis can be bribed?!"

Defeated, Noct shrugged. It probably looked pretty weird, because he was shivering quite a bit at this point. Good. He hoped it made Prompto feel guilty. "I think Ignis will do anything for you if you help him reach his goal of replacing his blood with caffeine."

"Shouldn't you be kind of worried about that? One of your most trusted men is corrupt, how can you be sure he's not gonna sell you to the Nifs for a case of Ebony?"

"Ignis is not gonna sell me for a case of Ebony." Noct paused. "Maybe two cases."

"Okay, yeah, that's fair."

Prompto pocketed his phone and threw Noct a long look. Finally, he sighed in mock defeat and lifted the corner of his blanket just a tiny bit in order to keep the warmth from escaping. "Fiiine, you can have half. But no hogging or I'll send you right back out into the cold."

As fast as possible with his stiff, frozen limbs, Noct scrambled out of his chair and dragged it towards Prompto, plopping down and huddling as close to Prompto and the precious blanket as the arm rests allowed. "Oh, thank the gods!"

"Don't thank the gods, thank me! The gods would've left you for dead. You owe me your life," Prompto told him, poking him in the side like a fucking nuisance.

"I could've made you. Make it a royal order," Noct mumbled. The warmth was already surrounding him, and it felt absolutely wonderful. His hands were still cold, though, so he shoved them between Prompto's back and the chair to warm them up, digging his fingers into his spine when Prompto started to complain. That, of course, didn't stop the complaining, but it still felt good to have revenge.

Slowly, Noct was starting to warm up. When the caravan door opened again, he was already dangerously close to being warm enough to doze off despite Prompto talking at him the entire time.

"Dinner is ready," Ignis said. He shivered and rubbed up and down his arms, looking surprised. "Oh dear, it's become rather chilly. We'd best eat inside, then."

He vanished, leaving Noct to gape at the open door in utter betrayal.

"Is he _serious_?"

Next to him, Prompto was cackling so hard nearly fell off his chair.

"He _left me out here_, and now he realizes it's cold?! _Oh dear, it's chilly_\- my ass!" Noct ranted, mocking Ignis' accent and only succeeding in making Prompto laugh more. "I should have him thrown into a dungeon!"

"Noct, buddy," Prompto wheezed, "You don't have a dungeon right now. I don't even think the citadel has one."

"I'll build one, just for him!"

Still laughing, Prompto got up, wrapped the blanket tightly around Noct's shoulder and grabbed his hand to pull him up. "C'mon, let's go inside. Y'know, before the food gets… _cold_."

* * *

**Thanks for sticking with this collection! I still very much intend to continue it, I love this little project way too much to just abandon anytime soon. Hope you liked!**


	12. Take my jacket, it's cold

**Ignis & Gladio, post-Altissia**

**I wrote the chapter for #16 on the list because I was super inspired for it but since the last thing I posted was #11 there are still a few to go before I can post it. I high key want to post it, though, so now I gotta hurry to fill these other prompts til we get to #16, starting with this one.**  
**Also, it's been almost a year since I started this project, and we're only at #12 now, so this might as well take another eight or nine years *lies down in a corner***

**Anyway, hope you enjoy. Gladio's inner voice swears a fair bit in this one, so beware if that's something that bothers you.**

* * *

Zegnautus Keep was a fucking nightmare, Gladio decided.

The place was a godsdamn maze packed full with daemons, the floors were littered with things for Ignis to trip over if Gladio wasn't fast enough to stop him, and Ardyn kept taunting them. Even worse, there was absolutely no trace of Noct. Plus, they were still missing Prompto.

Gladio wasn't prone to anxiety, but this place paired with the worry for all three of his friends had him practically vibrating with nervous energy. He couldn't wait to haul ass out of here, but unfortunately, they were still a long way from getting to leave.

It was also real damn cold.

Gladio himself didn't really notice, or rather, he didn't mind enough to notice. It was cold, because this whole country was a godsdamn fridge. But he wasn't _feeling _cold.

Ignis, on the other hand…

Of course, Ignis wasn't _complaining _or anything. Gladio was waiting for him to say a damn word, but at this point, he was sure the moron would rather freeze to death than admit he was feeling cold. Not that he needed to admit it, the shivering was kind of speaking for itself.

As for why Gladio hadn't said anything about it yet, well. That was mainly out of spite, even though he would never say that out loud. He was mad at Ignis for not speaking up and just fucking bearing everything without complaint. And he was pissed at himself, Noct, and Prompto for not realizing that, whilst Iggy's beloved coeurl print shirt had been safe in the Armiger back in Altissia, his jacket had been absolutely destroyed during whatever the fuck he'd put himself through at the altar. And none of them had even fucking thought to get him a new one.

So now here they were, stomping around ignoring the fact that Ignis was about to fucking freeze.

Gladio cast a careful glance at Ignis, who was following a few steps behind trying to navigate through the narrow corridors. Still shivering, jaw stubbornly set, it was clear he wasn't about to admit his defeat anytime soon.

Rolling his eyes dramatically, Gladio came to a decision. His only options were to wait until Ignis stopped being stubborn (not happening), let him freeze to death or catch pneumonia and then have him die from that (not in a million years), or stop being stubborn himself and being the one to address it (happening, apparently).

He stopped, letting Ignis catch up with him.

"Something wrong?" Ignis asked, head slightly tilted. He'd started doing that since Altissia, keen on making up for the lack of his sight by paying greater attention to sounds.

"You mean besides" Gladio gestured wildly at themselves and everything around them, "everything?"

Ignis frowned, but didn't say anything.

Gladio sighed deeply, slipped out of his heavy leather jacket, and held it against Ignis' hand expectantly until his fingers closed around it.

"Gladio, what is it?" Ignis demanded, clearly frustrated with the lack of insight on what was going on.

"Take my jacket, it's cold. You've been cold the entire time, you should've said something." It came out more accusatory than Gladio had intended. Somehow, that seemed to happen to him a lot lately.

"I did not say anything because there was nothing to be done about it," Ignis snapped. Trying to hand the jacket back, he continued, "Take it back. You'll only get cold yourself."

"No can do. I'm still wearing a sweater, that's much better than your flimsy shirt. I won't be responsible if you catch your death in this damned place so you're keeping the jacket."

Ignis kept holding the jacket out to Gladio, no doubt preparing himself to out-stubborn him.

Gladio wasn't having it. He was neither in the mood nor were they in a position to have a staring contest. Not to mention the unfairness of such a contest; with Ignis unable to see, there would be no reason for him to look away first.

Already hating himself for that thought only two seconds later, Gladio sighed again. If this was how Iggy had felt every single day putting up with the three of them, he was starting to understand why the guy was constantly chugging caffeine to keep up his energy levels.

"Just take it. I won't get cold, promise."

Another beat passed before Ignis lowered his arm in defeat. "You'll tell me if you need it back."

"Oh, you mean like you did?"

Ignis glared, but he did put on the jacket, and that was good enough for now.

"Ah, isn't this heartwarming?" Ardyn's annoying voice sounded over the speaker.

"Shut your fucking mouth," Gladio growled at the ceiling. He couldn't remember having ever hated a person as much as he hated this bastard, and every time he heard that voice, he remembered how bad he wanted to deck him square in the face. "C'mon, Iggy. Let's go."

Ardyn only laughed and then the transmission cut off, but Gladio knew their every step was being watched. Even more reason to get out of here as fast as possible.

He shuddered for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.

The next door he approached opened, but instead of revealing another corridor or nearly empty storage space, it lead into a dorm room. The uncomfortable looking beds with the thin mattresses and shabby blankets were the best thing Gladio had seen all day.

"Hey, Iggy! Check this out!" he called over his shoulder. "It's a dorm room. We're gonna rest for a while before we continue."

Ignis frowned as he entered the room. "Are you sure? We don't have time for that."

Gladio already plopped down on the nearest bed. If Iggy wanted to keep going, well. He'd like to see him try to get him off this bed first. "We can spare a few minutes. That fucker is playing a game with us, I doubt he can continue without us. Plus, we've been walking around this place all day. I dunno about you, but I'm beat. Any more fighting without rest and we're gonna end up getting ourselves killed."

Ignis, looking reluctant to sit down, finally nodded in defeat. "You're right. Just a few minutes, though, not longer."

"Sure thing." Something across the room caught his eye and he hauled himself off the bed despite his initial plan of not moving until they had to leave. "Oh, Iggy, you're gonna love this."

In the mini-fridge he'd found, there was one lone can with a very familiar design. He pulled it out, cracked it open after making sure it hadn't expired yet (of course it hadn't, that stuff would probably survive longer than any of them) and handed it to Ignis.

Ignis' look was one of disbelief and pure delight as he took one sniff and immediately started chugging the whole thing without so much as a breath in between.

Feeling as satisfied as Ignis looked, Gladio let himself fall back onto the bed, ignoring the worrisome creaking of the metal frame. It felt good to be lying down.

Just for a few minutes.

* * *

**First and most importantly of all, I want to thank all of you who have been following this for so long now, the people who keep leaving me so, so very kind comments, the ones who still come back to read my updates even though it's sometimes months in between them, and the new readers that decide to give this thingy a shot. Thank you so much, everyone 3**

**I spent some time debating if it's really cold in Gralea, since I couldn't see any snow where Noct gets separated from Iggy and Gladio (unlike right by Shiva's body), but the map clearly shows pretty much all of Niflheim being covered by snow. So I figured it's still cold enough to be uncomfortable without a jacket, lol.**  
**And yes, the dorm rooms have mini-fridges now. The Niflheim army need their coffee, people!**  
**Oh, and writing Gladio is a lot of fun because it allows me to swear however fucking much I want, hell yeah. On a more serious note, I think Gladio is super fucking stressed at this point in the game and he doesn't know what to do with himself and his emotions, so he spends the time alternating between being kind of an ass and beating himself up for being an ass. He really needs and deserves a hug :(**


	13. Sorry I'm late

**"Sorry I'm late", Gladio & Noct, Brotherhood era/pre-roadtrip**

**Didn't think we'd be here again so soon after the last chapter, but here's an update. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Just accept it, you're never gonna beat me in anything shooting-related," Prompto teased after he was done celebrating his victory, _again_.

Noct groaned, shoving his shoulder into Prompto's. "Shut up. We're gonna play a racing game next, and I'm gonna make you _cry_."

"Not that I wouldn't love to prove you wrong, buddy, but I gotta go. My shift starts in," Prompto pulled out his phone to check the time and made a face, "ten minutes, so I really should get going."

"What?" Sudden dread washed over Noct as he grabbed Prompto's phone to see for himself. "Shit!"

"Huh?"

Noct quickly slid off the stool and shoved the colourful arcade gun back into its holster, looking around for his schoolbag. "I was supposed to be at training with Gladio like twenty minutes ago. I completely forgot!"

"Aw, man, he's gonna kick your ass. Or worse, make you run extra laps," Prompto said, sounding half sympathetic and half amused. "Better hurry up then."

"Yep, see you," Noct called over his shoulder as he ran out, almost tripping over his own feet and down the front stairs in his haste to leave the building.

The arcade wasn't that far from the Citadel, but he'd still be over half an hour late in total. A year ago, he wouldn't have cared. Gladio would have yelled at him and told him to run laps or do a million push-ups, and Noct would have scowled at him and probably run off the training grounds. If he would have bothered to show up at all, that was. Chances were that, since he was already late, he would have gone home to sleep straight from the arcade.

Then, Ignis would have given him a lecture, maybe threatened to tell his dad about it, but nothing would ever have happened since his dad didn't have time to deal with his bullshit anyway. And the next time Noct didn't feel like training, the entire thing would just have repeated itself.

But now, for the past two or three months, things had been kinda different between him and Gladio. Better. They were both making an effort now, ever since Ignis had finally had enough of their constant fighting and locked them in the changing room after yet another training session gone wrong. He'd refused to let them out until they'd talked it all out, and he refused to budge even when Noct tried to make it an order. So they'd talked it out because neither of them wanted to spend the night in a smelly changing room and there had been no doubt that Ignis would just go home and leave them there at some point.

Noct still rolled his eyes when Gladio criticized him or told him to stop slacking off, and Gladio still snapped at him when he didn't get a move right after the second time. They both still said things that were uncalled for, but they both did their best to apologize to each other afterwards, once they'd both cooled off a bit.

And what was perhaps the biggest change in Noct's behaviour was that he finally took training seriously. He made sure to show up on time, and he didn't storm off to sulk anymore. Gladio, he'd found out, was in return more lenient with training hours, willing to reschedule when Noct was genuinely not feeling capable of getting out of bed, and sometimes he let him off early when a session went especially well. Gladio would even take him out for fast food after training every once in a while, and then they'd just hang out and talk while they ate.

Training sucked less that way, but what Noct really liked about this whole thing was how they were closer outside of training. Kind of like they were actually friends. It was nice, he thought, and definitely worth putting some effort into things.

And now, he'd gone and forgotten about training. He was going to be late, and Gladio was going to be mad. Even worse, Gladio was going to be _disappointed_.

Yet another thing he wouldn't have cared about a few months ago. He wouldn't have given a damn about Gladio's feelings, or maybe it would even have felt like some sort of victory knowing he'd managed to irritate him enough to lose his cool on him.

Now… the thought of disappointing Gladio didn't feel like a victory at all.

* * *

Gladio glanced at the clock again, just to make sure he had the time right. He did, of course, and he dropped his gaze again with a frustrated sigh.

He'd thought he was finally getting through to Noct, he really had. Him skipping training again all of a sudden felt not unlike a punch to the gut, even though he would never have admitted it out loud. He'd started to look at the kid like a friend instead of a job, and he'd kind of thought Noct was sharing that opinion.

He grabbed his phone from where it was lying next to his water bottle again, opening his and Noct's text history and scrolling through his three unanswered texts from the previous thirty minutes. Just as he tried to decide if there was even a point in sending another one, the door burst open, revealing a very red-faced Noct.

The kid was breathing heavily, and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. He dropped his bag on the floor and leaned forward with his hands on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath, looking very much like he ran here all the way from… wherever the hell he'd been.

"Sorry I'm late," he gasped, taking in a few large gulps of air before he was able to continue without sounding like he was about to drown. "School was out early so me and Prompto went to the arcade for a while. I didn't mean to skip training, I just completely lost track of the time."

Gladio studied him, all irritation he'd felt earlier already gone from his chest. Instead, there was relief, and something not unlike the fondness normally reserved for Iris.

The thing about Noct was that he couldn't really lie. Aside from a few white lies (like that time Iggy had told him about when Noct had found a kitten and was trying to hide it from Citadel staff) he never did lie, and when he tried, he sucked at it pretty bad. And then, even when he would still regularly skip training, he'd never bothered to make up excuses. He would simply mutter "whatever" under his breath, or say nothing at all, and that would be the end of it. The fact that he had an excuse at all now was pretty much all the proof Gladio needed to know he was telling nothing but the truth.

"Looks like you already started without me," he said with a smirk. "I think we can cut the warm-up phase short today."

Noct looked up sharply, having clearly expected a different response.

Gladio lifted an eyebrow at him. "What? Do you _want _to run laps?"

When Noct shook his head so hard he almost gave himself whiplash, Gladio snorted. "Thought so. Go catch your breath and get changed. I want you here in five minutes."

Noct still looked kind of surprised, but he grabbed his back and disappeared into the changing room without complaint.

Grinning to himself, Gladio took his phone and typed out two quick texts; one to Jared to tell him not to expect him at dinner, and another one to Iggy letting him know he didn't have to wait up because he and Noct were going out for burgers after training.

Then he put the phone aside and started doing his own warm-up routine until Noct joined him.

* * *

**Today I learnt that writing the dynamic between Noct and Gladio is actually really, really hard, ESPECIALLY during the Brotherhood era. Was kind of surprised because other combinations of the boys are no problem, but this specific combo was kind of a mess, lol. I think it's giving me so much trouble because their personalities/ways to deal with problems just clash. It's an interesting dynamic for sure, but definitely a challenge to me. Anyway, I think there must have been a point at which they solved their issues with each other because they're obviously friends by the time the game starts. And it wouldn't be an immediate thing, they'd both need to work on themselves to properly get along, so I tried to capture that here.**  
**It's been a while since I dropped off a chapter I didn't really like, but we're 13 chapters into this project now so it was bound to happen at one point or another. It's alright, though, because this is supposed to have a hundred chapters in total, and it'd be an absolute miracle if I loved every single one of it. I'm sure the next one is gonna be better already~**

**I'm also kinda tempted to find a way to write about Ignis locking them in a room and making them talk it out in one of the future chapters. Sounds like it could be fun, but we'll see.**

**For now, thanks a bunch for reading. Y'all folks keep me going 33**


	14. May I have this dance?

** Hey guys, I come to bring you a new chapter! It's about double the length of what I usually post for this project, but I figured we could all use it during these trying times. That, and I received some extremely good news today that takes an enormous weight off my chest, so this is also a bit of celebration for myself, haha.**

**I hope you enjoy this very fluffy, completely angst-free double-length chapter! 3**

* * *

Ignis sighed heavily at the message on his phone. At first, he hadn't even known to whom the unknown number belonged. Only after he'd inquired, Ardalio had revealed his identity, although he seemed a bit vexed that he wasn't saved in Ignis' phone yet.

Ardalio was the sort of person who thought everyone should know him, should want to listen to what he had to say, and should feel honoured if he elected them worthy of his attention. A handsome young man, no doubt, but way too full of himself. He was only a few years older than Ignis, but due to his father being a rather important member of the council, Ardalio hadn't had to work particularly hard to earn a position in the council himself.

Unfortunately, Ignis had, as it appeared, become one of those lucky people who were blessed with Ardalio's attention. More, the man was asking him to be his date for Noctis' upcoming birthday party. Ardalio was smart, to attend the party with one of the people closest to the Prince would be a valuable boost to his reputation.

Ignis, naturally, had no intention of going to the party with Ardalio. That did mean he would have to find a date for himself, though. Up until now, he had simply planned to attend the event alone, but claiming he already had someone else to accompany him was the only valid excuse he had to avoid having to accept Ardalio's proposal.

He put the phone down with the screen against the table and went back to his work. Ardalio could wait until he'd found himself a date. That way, Ignis wouldn't have to lie to him, he justified to himself. And maybe Ignis was leaving him on read was because he liked the mental image of Ardalio's indignation at not being replied to immediately, too. Just maybe.

* * *

"Gladio, a word?"

Training seemed to have gone well; both Noct and Gladio were in a good mood. Gladio even held his hand out for Noct to give him a fist bump before he sent him off to the changing room.

Perfect circumstances for Ignis to make his request.

"Sure, what's up?"

"You wouldn't, perchance, happen to be in need of someone to accompany you to Noct's birthday party?"

Gladio grinned at him. "Iggy, are you asking me to be your _date_?"

"I suppose I am." Ignis smiled back. "You would do me a favour if you accepted."

"So, that's how it is." Gladio wagged his eyebrows knowingly. "Out with it, who asked you?"

Ignis made a face. "Ardalio. Although he didn't exactly _ask_. His message made it sound more like he had elected me. An honour, I'm sure."

Gladio laughed. "What, and you don't appreciate it? Anyone else would be thrilled to go with him."

"Well then anyone else may gladly have him," Ignis said dryly.

"Your loss," Gladio said with a shrug. "If you're wanna settle for me instead of him and his big ego, go ahead. Actually, I'm kinda glad you asked. Dad's been hounding me for weeks already, said I should go with one of the girls who think it would be cool to participate in breeding future Shields. But I ain't stupid, I know how this sorta thing goes. I go to the party with one of them, her family thinks that basically means I'll marry her."

Relieved, Ignis nodded. "We wouldn't want that now, would we. That reminds me, Noct is bringing Prompto as his date."

"Really?" Gladio whistled. "Damn. The nobles are gonna hate that."

There was no doubt that a commoner accompanying Noct to the party would cause some outrage among the nobility of Lucis. Countless families had tried to introduce their daughters and sons to Noctis before, to no avail. As a result, Noct had gained a reputation of being unapproachable and indifferent- a reputation he happily embraced if it meant not having to put up with people trying to make them notice their children. Prompto's presence at Noct's side would mean all those who had been rejected by Noct before would be forced to admit that the issue did not lie with Noctis being unapproachable at all.

Ignis should probably have discouraged him, but he found himself looking forward to the reactions of those attending the party too much to tell Noct not to invite Prompto. He also didn't have the heart to tell Noct his best friend couldn't be at his birthday party. And since Prompto clearly intended to remain in Noct's life, the birthday party was the best opportunity to introduce him to Noct's world beyond video games and fast food.

"I've no doubt about it. Either way, thank you for accepting my proposal. I really was not looking forward to spending the evening with Ardalio of all people."

"No problem. Not like you aren't helping me out here too." Gladio smirked. "Pick you up at seven?"

Ignis rolled his eyes. "We aren't going to a prom. And you needn't pick me up."

For such a hulk of a man, Gladio sure could pout. "You're a killjoy, Iggy."

* * *

"Damn, Iggy, who dressed you? The Fairy Godmother?" Gladio said when he, true to his word and not at all impressed by Ignis telling him not to, picked Ignis up at seven. He gave him an appreciative once-over, then offered him his arm in an exaggerated gesture. "Looks good! Ready to go?"

"Yes, but remember I need to be home before midnight, lest the magic loses its power and you figure out who I really am," Ignis played along, holding on to Gladio's arm. "And, thank you. You look rather handsome, yourself."

"Watch us steal Noct's spotlight. Are we allowed to be hotter than the prince?"

"I doubt Noct would mind not being in the spotlight," Ignis pointed out. "And, since he isn't a bride, I'd say we are allowed to be hotter than him."

As it turned out, Noct was holding his own pretty impressively in terms of hotness, but as Ignis had seen him in a formal setting before, it was Prompto who was the real surprise.

Of course, Ignis had been the one to take him to buy a suit, so he'd seen him wear it already. But surrounded by nobility and royalty, he was pleasantly surprised to see how nicely Prompto fit in despite his lack of experience in this particular world. He seemed a bit anxious, a bit bouncier than usual from nerves, but mostly he looked thrilled to be there.

"Wow, kid, I didn't think you could pull off a suit. Looks like I was wrong," Gladio teased, punching Prompto lightly in the shoulder.

"Thanks! I feel like I'm someone really, really important," Prompto gushed. "Ohh, do you think I could get one of those champagne flutes? They're so fancy!"

"Well, considering you're the Prince's escort tonight, I would say you are an important person," Ignis told him. "That doesn't change the fact that you are underage and won't be getting any alcohol, though."

Prompto pouted, but Noct patted his shoulder with playful sympathy. "Don't worry, we can still try all of the food. The stuff without veggies is really good, you'll see."

"The stuff with veggies is also really good, you just don't know how to appreciate food," Gladio said dryly. "Anyway, Prompto, has he told you you're going to have to dance yet?"

Prompto groaned. "Don't remind me! Noct's taught me some stuff, but I'm really not looking forward to it." He eyed Gladio warily. "_You _don't know how to dance, do you?"

"Don't encourage them!" Noct hissed, elbowing Prompto, but it was too late; the devilish grin already formed on Gladio's face.

"I don't know, Iggy, do I know how to dance?"

Ignis resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, Gladio, you know how to dance." To Prompto, he said, "He may not look like it, but Gladio is a great dancer. In fact, he's even my favourite dancing partner."

"Yeah? Show me," Prompto demanded.

"Later," Gladio promised. "For now, let's check out the food. I'm starving."

* * *

"It's later and people are dancing. Show me."

Prompto had been distracted first by the food, then by all the people who wanted to talk to him. He stood his ground pretty impressively, winning the nobility of Lucis over with the natural charms he likely didn't even know he possessed. Soon enough, they might even forget he was a commoner. But by the time people were starting to dance, he was beginning to look a little tired of the constant attention. When the music started playing, he immediately latched onto it, remembering Gladio's earlier promise.

He'd earned the show, Ignis figured. They might as well indulge him for a while.

Gladio seemed to agree as he delivered an exaggerated bow before Ignis and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

"Certainly," Ignis said, and let himself be led to the dance floor.

As usual, Gladio took the lead. The music started out rather slow, leaving not much room for impressive moves. But when it picked up eventually, he grinned at Ignis, mirth sparkling in his eyes.

"Let's show the kids how it's done," he said, and then the world around them blurred as he whirled them across the floor in a rapid series of footsteps.

Ignis hadn't been joking when he said Gladio was his favourite partner to dance with. He led easily but firmly, and with Ignis' own skills, he was sure they were a sight to behold. Both of them had been required to attend dancing classes a few years ago. Neither of them had been particularly looking forward to it, regarding it more as a necessary evil. They'd elected to go together hoping it would make the time pass more quickly, but instead, they figured out dancing could be a lot more interesting than they gave it credit for, provided one had the right partner.

Gladio was going all out, clearly showing off by pulling out some of the fanciest moves in their repertoire. Ignis would have loved to see Prompto's face now, but there was no time to stop and check as he was focusing on keeping up with Gladio.

It took a considerable effort not to break into laughter; dancing with Gladio was just so _fun_. There was something about dancing wildly in a formal setting like this; a chance to get away with something they couldn't do otherwise.

By the time the dance ended, they were breathing hard, but that didn't stop Gladio from dipping Ignis deep, ending their impromptu performance as dramatically as possible. He held him steady for a moment, hands securely around his waist before he pulled him back up and let go of him.

Trying to catch his breath without being too obviously winded, Ignis rejoined Prompto and Noct with Gladio trailing close behind him.

"So, whatcha think?" Gladio asked, winking at Prompto. His cheeks were flushed and there was a happy grin on his lips. Obviously, he'd enjoyed it just as much as Ignis had.

"Dude!" Prompto said, sounding shocked and impressed and in complete awe. "That was _amazing_! You two looked like _gods_, it was the coolest thing _ever_!"

Noct didn't look nearly as impressed and made sure to roll his eyes at them to let them know how very much not impressed he was, but even he didn't bother hiding his smile. "They're extra, that's what they are."

"Prompto did want to know," Ignis retorted. "We simply showed him what he asked to see."

"Yeah, like you didn't go out of your way to impress him. Some of these moves I've never even seen you guys do before," Noct snorted- thankfully, there wasn't anyone close enough to have heard him make such undignified noises.

"Man, how am I supposed to dance now? I won't get anywhere near their level," Prompto moaned, shoulders slumping dramatically. "Your dad's probably gonna throw me into the dungeon because I embarrassed his son."

"We don't have a dungeon," Noct explained patiently, slinging an arm around Prompto and steering him towards the dance floor. "If anything, you'd just go to prison."

Prompto's squeak of distress was mercifully drowned out by the music.

* * *

**You guys won't believe how much I would've loved to write the dancing scene with more detail! But sadly, I don't know a single thing about dancing, absolutely nothing. I was forced to take a dancing class once in school and I absolutely hated it, so I forgot everything I learnt immediately after it was finally over.Hope you enjoyed! Stay safe and healthy, everyone. Focus on the good things, don't read too many negative headlines, and don't beat yourself up if creating is harder than you feel it should be. To those who work in hospitals, grocery stores etc. thank you! Love you all 3**


	15. I made your favourite

Hello everyone, I hope you're all well and holding up alright. Unfortunately, I do not bring you a cheerful chapter (nobody dies or anything, no worries), but I still hope it's enjoyable!

**This chapter deals with depression, so feel free to skip this one if you're not up for reading something like that.**

* * *

Ignis sighed when he pulled up to the building and there wasn't any light in Noct's apartment yet.

He wasn't a morning person by any means; coffee usually did most of the work to make him appear presentable in the morning, and nearly a lifetime of having to get up at a time when most people were still sound asleep had done the rest. He was used to it, but it hadn't come to him naturally as it did to Gladio. The man, somehow, was able to jump out of bed at four in the morning perfectly cheerful and irritatingly talkative. Ignis could definitely not relate.

So it wasn't that he didn't understand Noct's aversion to the early hours of the day, because he did. He really did, but he still wished he didn't have to deal with a grumpy, irritable Noct almost every morning- provided he managed to rouse him at all without dumping a bucket of cold water over him.

Chugging the last of his coffee, he made his way to the elevator, nodding at the Crownsguard stationed at the entrance as he passed.

If the task of waking Noct didn't take too much time this morning, he might make pancakes to brighten Noct's morning a bit, he mused as he unlocked the door and let himself in.

"Noct, it's time to get up," he called, opening Noct's bedroom door and, to his utter surprise, finding Noct blinking up at him instead of being dead to the world like he normally was in the morning.

Quickly, he made his way over to the bed. "Noct, are you feeling alright?"

Putting his hand on Noct's forehead brought no answers to the strange behaviour; he didn't appear to be running a fever.

"If you get up in time, I'll make pancakes for breakfast," Ignis tried, since Noct evidently wasn't sick.

But Noct just curled in on himself and, in the smallest voice Ignis had ever heard from him, said, "I can't go to school today."

Ignis paused. "May I sit?"

When Noct didn't object, he sat down on the edge of the bed and rested his hand atop Noct's leg. "Is there anything you would like to talk about?"

Miserably, Noct shook his head. His eyes were dull and he seemed completely drained like he hadn't slept all night. "I just can't today. Please don't make me go."

Ignis' heart nearly broke when he finally understood.

He was well aware of other people's opinions, that they thought he had to be harder on Noct in order to prepare him for his future duties. He knew Gladio thought he was too soft with him, and he knew the only thing that kept Noct's teachers from punishing him for slacking off in school was the fact that he was the Prince.

But he also knew that the greatest mistake he could make at this moment would be to force Noct to get up, get dressed, and go to school this morning.

Noct wouldn't ask to stay home because of nothing. He might not be physically ill, but depression was an illness all the same. Far be it from Ignis to force him to do something for which he so clearly did not have the energy today.

"Very well," Ignis said, reaching out to brush his hand over Noct's hair very gently. "Rest. I'll work from here today if you don't mind. If you need anything, I'll be in the living room."

"Thanks," Noct whispered. He buried himself deep in his blanket and closed his eyes, but when Ignis was about to leave the room, he opened them again. "Can you… let Prompto know? I don't want him to worry."

"Of course," Ignis promised. He closed the door softly and went to set up a place to work on the table in the living room. Staying here meant having to cancel a few meetings as well as his own training today, but his duty was still first and foremost to tend to Noct, which was precisely what he would spend the day doing, whether people liked it or not.

As Noct wished, he also sent a message to Prompto informing him that Noct wasn't feeling well and would not be attending school today. Then, he put his phone away and got to work.

Occasionally, he'd glance at the closed bedroom door, wondering if Noct was doing alright. He was most likely asleep, though. It was a running joke among their group that Noct spent most of his days asleep, like a cat, but the truth was that he often had trouble sleeping. Especially when his depression was bad he'd spend hours and hours lying awake during the night and only be able to fall asleep in the early morning. And once he finally did fall asleep, he was unlikely to wake for the next ten to twelve hours.

Still, Ignis succumbed to the urge after two hours and checked in on Noct, cracking the door open just a bit to peer inside. Like he had thought, Noct was fast asleep with only a mop of black hair peeking out from under the blanket. He didn't stir at the sound of the door, so Ignis quietly left.

Back at the table, he checked his phone and saw that Prompto had replied, wishing Noct a speedy recovery and offering to drop by tomorrow if Noct wasn't feeling better by then.

As the day went on, Ignis slowly worked through his full email inbox, typed out a few new emails to the recording clerks of the meetings he had missed to ask for a transcript, and prepared his documents for upcoming meetings.

Around dinner time, he closed his laptop and pulled out his recipe book instead. Noct hadn't eaten in twenty-four hours, and Ignis had skipped lunch himself. Unintentionally, of course, but it was startlingly easy to forget about the time when one was immersed in their work.

He pushed aside half-empty takeout containers and pizza leftovers in the fridge, searching from the ingredients he'd need to make a rice bowl with chicken and egg. It was one of Noct's favourites, and it was classic comfort food. Perhaps it would even help Noct feel a bit better.

Upon mentally going through the steps of the dish and determining how much time he'd need, he decided to make a batch of the tarts Noct had eaten in Tenebrae all those years ago and that he still hadn't managed to get right even after countless tries. Noct might not be hungry enough to eat them today, but they were still lovely a day or two later so there would be no harm in making them.

When everything was ready, he carefully prepared a bowl for Noct - not too much, he wasn't likely to be very hungry - and took it to Noct's room on a tray along with a glass of water and a single pastry.

After he set the tray down on the nightstand, he reached for Noct's shoulder and shook him gently. "Noct? Noct, wake up. It's time for dinner. I made your favourite."

Beneath his hand, Noct stirred, groaning softly before he opened his eyes and blinked blearily at Ignis. "'M not hungry…"

"I know," Ignis said, "But please try to eat a little."

Noct looked at him like he was asking something impossible from him- and perhaps right now, it was.

"It doesn't have to be the whole plate," Ignis soothed. "Just as much as you can manage."

Finally, Noct nodded, not meeting Ignis' eye. "Okay. Thanks."

Ignis smiled, relieved. If Noct was going to try, that was already enough for him.

"You are most welcome."

He left Noct alone after that, giving him space instead of breathing down his neck to make sure he ate. It would accomplish nothing, he knew, even though he itched to take care of him, to ensure he was fed and to try everything he could to make him feel better. It was what Gladio affectionately called his 'mother hen instinct', and usually, he was not afraid to act on it if it meant his friends were taken care of. It had taken him some time to accept that there wasn't much he could to do make Noct feel better when he felt like this, though.

In silence, he ate his own portion of the food. When he bit into the pastry, he knew right away he had once again failed to recreate the recipe, even without Noct telling him so. His notebook came out, as did his pen, to add a note to the recipe and cross out another. Better luck next time.

Ignis washed the dishes, washed them again when he convinced himself they weren't clean yet, opened his laptop to answer a few more emails, sent a text to Cor to apologize for missing training. Finally, he deemed it long enough since he brought Noct his food and went back to the bedroom.

Unsurprisingly, Noct was asleep again. But when Ignis went to collect the tray, he found the bowl almost empty and the pastry was gone.

Relief pooled in his chest and he abandoned the tray for a moment in favour of leaning down and pressing a kiss to Noct's hair.

"Good night, Noct," he said softly. "I'll be on the couch if you need me."

* * *

**I briefly considered doing something else with this prompt, but... FFXV gave us a canonically depressed character which I believe many of us can relate to. I think it's a really important side of Noct and I wanted to acknowledge it a bit. That said, I apologize if there are inaccuracies in this chapter. At this point, I'm pretty sure I have some form of depression myself, but I'm lucky enough to have never been at a point where it was impossible for me to get out of bed. Therefore, I have no first-hand experience for this, but since the chapter was from Ignis' perspective, it's more of an outsider's POV anyway. At any rate, I hope this was still enjoyable in some way. I know it's kind of a comfort for myself ^^**

**I wanna say the next chapter is gonna be happier, but it isn't really. The good news is that it's already written, though, so the wait shouldn't be long. That's something, right?**

**Big hugs to all of you, you're the best 3**


	16. It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway

**Hello! Here's the chapter I promised when I last updated. As I said I'd already written it quite a while ago, let it sit for a bit and came back to it today to proofread and edit. And I somehow really love it, I think it's one of my favourites so far! It is, however, not a very happy one, so there's that. Hope you enjoy!**

**Slight content warning for, well. Pulling splinters out of a wound, but it's not super graphic or anything. Just so you know!**

* * *

The sound of something shattering followed by a string of colourful curses startled Prompto awake. He shot upright, flailed, and nearly fell off the bed but managed to catch himself just in time.

Concerned, he looked at Ignis' still form next to him, but he was still out cold. Ignis had developed a fever earlier in the evening, but when Prompto carefully felt his forehead to check his temperature, he was relieved to find that the fever at least hadn't gotten any worse. He also seemed to be at peace for now, unlike a few hours ago when he'd been tossing and turning and muttering incomprehensible things to the point of Prompto worrying he'd somehow roll off the bed in the middle of the night.

He had yet to properly wake up, though. He'd spent most of the first day post-injury unconscious. Then, he'd woken for a few minutes, disoriented and unresponsive, before slipping into something more sleep-like. Ever since, he'd been mostly sleeping, and now he was running a fever. Overall, his condition was pretty worrying, and they hadn't even had the chance yet to tell him about the extent of his injuries.

Still, right now, Prompto was satisfied with his state and decided it was safe to leave him alone for a moment. Quietly he slipped out from under the covers and out the door, to the room next to theirs where Noct was also unconscious and Gladio was keeping watch. In theory. Whatever just happened in that room wasn't _supposed _to happen, though, so Prompto summoned his gun before he entered. Just to be safe.

A quick scan of the dark room provided only Noct, lying on the bed just as terrifyingly still as he had ever since they brought him and Iggy back to the Leville.

There was light in the bathroom. And Gladio. And a broken mirror.

"Hey, big guy? You okay?" Prompto asked, dismissing his gun in favour of hurrying over to Gladio's side. He didn't look okay, so the question was kind of pointless. People didn't just break mirrors because they were having a great time.

"Fine," Gladio said curtly, convincing exactly no one.

"No offense, but I don't believe you." Prompto's eyes fell on the blood on what was left of the mirror, and then on Gladio's hand. "Shit, did you break that mirror with your _fist?"_

He tried to reach out, but Gladio pulled his hand away and took a step back. It reminded Prompto of an injured animal; an awful way for Gladio to behave.

"It's fine," Gladio repeated. A potion appeared in his good hand. "I'll just take a-"

"No!" Prompto snapped, quickly snatching the potion away from Gladio and sending it back into the Armiger. "Are you insane? There's still little pieces of mirror stuck in your hand!"

Gladio's jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything.

Prompto tried to reach for him again. This time, Gladio let him.

"You left your post. You should be with Ignis."

It was an accusation, clearly intended to either hurt or intimidate him, but Prompto refused to play along. Everything had already gone to shit, he wasn't going to start a fight with Gladio on top of it all when each other was all they had left. Instead, he gingerly took Gladio's hand to inspect it closely, because he wasn't about to let his friend walk around with glass in his hand.

There were definitely splinters of the mirror glass stuck inside, so he pulled their rarely used first aid kit from the Armiger, found a pair of tweezers, and got to work.

"Iggy's fine, his fever hasn't gotten worse. And the doctor said he's not likely to wake up anytime soon, anyway."

Gladio gritted his teeth as Prompto had to dig a little deeper to get one particularly deeply lodged shard out, but he didn't try to pull away.

"The doctor also said he might get his eyesight back," he said darkly.

Prompto paused, allowing Gladio to take back his hand and cradle it protectively against his chest. "You think he won't."

"Have you seen him? He went and got half his face burn off! We already fucking bathed him in potions and they barely did anything. These wounds aren't normal, and he's not gonna get his fucking eyesight back," Gladio exploded. To an outsider, he would probably sound insensitive and, well, like a massive jerk. But Prompto heard the pain masked by anger, saw the flash of grief in his eyes.

"Yeah…" he said simply, helplessly, because he'd been thinking about that too. Iggy's injuries were bad, really bad, and if they hadn't reacted to the potions by now, there was no sense in continuing. The potions had fixed up his bruises, broken ribs, the cut on his head yet hadn't even touched the burns on his face and his left arm. Prompto wasn't stupid; he knew what such an injury so close to a person's eyes did to them.

Still, to have Gladio state it so blatantly made it feel much more real all of a sudden. Like there was no going back from now, a harsh reminder that nothing was ever going to be the same again. Gladio wasn't one to sugar-coat things, and most of the time, Prompto appreciated his honesty. But somehow he had still hoped he'd get to pretend, just a little longer.

Shit.

Taking a deep breath, he gestured for Gladio to give him his hand again so he could remove the remaining shards.

Aside from Gladio's occasional sharp intake of breath, the room was silent as Prompto worked. Finally, he pulled out the last fragment and immediately applied a potion to it.

Gladio sighed in relief, flexing his fingers to test his ability to move them. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any lingering damage- Prompto didn't even want to think about the possibility of yet another member of their group dealing with a permanent injury.

"Let's get on the balcony for a bit, yeah?" Prompto suggested when Gladio fell silent and stared at the floor, or more like right through it. He didn't stick around for an answer, opting to wait on the balcony instead. If Gladio wanted to join him, he would. And if he didn't. Well. Prompto wasn't gonna force him.

Altissia had taken a good beating during Noct's fight with Leviathan. There were ruins everywhere, buildings were flooded, others were missing their roof or had collapsed. Prompto couldn't imagine anyone was happy about them still being here, but First Secretary Claustra must've felt some kind of gratitude for them trying to keep Leviathan safe from the imperials. Or maybe she just had more empathy than they gave her credit for, but no matter what motives she had, Prompto was grateful. He didn't want to imagine having to travel with both Noct and Ignis out of commission.

The people of Altissia were already working on rebuilding the city, but it would probably take a long time to restore it to its former glory.

To think that just a few days ago, being here had felt like a holiday. Prompto had been happier than ever, and now…

There were footsteps approaching, and he hastily scrubbed at his eyes as hot tears threatened to spill. He wouldn't cry now, not in front of Gladio.

"Hand feeling okay?" he asked, taking extra care to make his voice sound cheerful. He had a feeling to be cheerful would be his job for the time being, even though he wasn't yet sure how he'd manage.

"Yeah. Thanks for fixing it. I owe you," Gladio said.

"No, dude, you don't owe me anything. It's what friends do, right?"

Gladio paused. "…Yeah. Did I, uh. Did I wake you? Earlier, I mean."

"Nah, it's okay. I couldn't sleep anyway," Prompto lied.

"Okay. Okay. Sorry, I don't- it's just-" Gladio cut himself off, hissing in frustration. "This is… bad, Prompto. Worse than… well, not worse than Insomnia falling, but it's definitely up there."

"Yeah," Prompto said. "I get it. It's wrong, I don't know how we fucked up so bad."

Gladio made a strangled noise. "Not we. I did. I fucked up. I should've- It shouldn't've been Iggy, it should've been me."

Because he was the Shield, not Ignis. It was his position, his one purpose, and now Ignis was going to serve as a permanent reminder that he hadn't done his job. Prompto understood, and his heart ached for his friend.

Back in Insomnia, he'd looked at the three of them with admiration and, even though he was ashamed of it, envy. He used to feel insignificant, with all these people having their positions and serving important purposes and Prompto himself was only there because Noct kept him around, for as long as he felt like keeping him around.

But now, witnessing first-hand how far their sense of duty went, how Gladio's and Iggy's lives barely mattered to themselves in comparison to Noct's, and the crushing feelings of guilt that came with the knowledge of having failed… Prompto was suddenly very, very glad he hadn't had to live his entire life with that sort of pressure.

"Iggy and I…" Gladio continued, making Prompto snap out of his thoughts, "We've always been partners. I had his back, and I knew he had mine. My weaknesses were his strengths. And now… I don't… I don't know how to deal with this alone, Prompto."

Prompto's eyes burned, and he had to swallow a few times to keep himself from choking on his words. "You're not alone. I promise. I'm not Iggy, I know I'm the weakest out of all of us, and I'm not very valuable in battle. I can't take Iggy's place, I know that, but I'm gonna do my best to help. Promise."

Gladio sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "I know. Thanks, kid."

There wasn't much to say, no words to make any of this better. Prompto knew his words hadn't done anything to help Gladio, and he couldn't even take it to heart. Somehow, he doubted there were any words that had the power to make Gladio feel better. Hell, Prompto couldn't think of any words to make _himself _feel better.

"I think I should…" Prompto gestured at the balcony door awkwardly. "Y'know. Check on Iggy."

Gladio nodded wordlessly.

Prompto went back inside but paused halfway through the door, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Try to get some sleep?"

"Yeah. You too," Gladio said. He didn't follow Prompto inside.

Prompto didn't think Gladio would actually attempt to sleep, not if it meant taking his eyes off Noct. But there wasn't much he could do; Gladio was way too fucking stubborn, and Prompto didn't have the physical strength to wrestle him into bed and keep him there.

He stalled for a few more moments before giving up, softly closing the door behind himself as he returned to Ignis' room.

Ignis was still exactly where he'd left him, although the covers had somehow slipped down to his hip as he'd moved in his sleep.

Carefully, Prompto tucked him back in before he climbed into bed with him again. After a few seconds of contemplation, he decided that nothing mattered anymore and gently rested his head against Ignis' shoulder.

"Goodnight, Iggy," he whispered and closed his eyes. This time, he didn't try to stop the tears.

* * *

**Sometimes, even people who love each other can't do anything to make each other feel better. I find the whole post-Altissia thing really interesting from a writer's perspective because it's such a harsh difference from the nice roadtrip vibe the game gives off before this point. Sure, they're at war and their homeland is being invaded, their loved ones dead, but the game doesn't really make you feel that all that much. It's really easy to forget about that and just have a fun roadtrip with your bros. But as soon as you get to Altissia, everything is just terrible and you feel it in everything they say or do, and that's just really, really interesting to explore. In this moment, there's really nothing Prompto (or either of them) can do or say to make things suck any less, and I guess that's life. That was... a lot of rambling, but I just had an inexplicable amount of fun/pleasure writing (and re-reading) this one so I guess I have a lot of thoughts about it, haha.**

**Prompto is an absolute darling btw and is trying his best. He deserves a hug or seven. They all do, honestly.**

**Thanks to all of you who follow this series, who tell me over and over that they like reading it, and to the silent readers too. Y'all are the fuel that keeps me going, and I hope I can continue to bring you joy (or sometimes just emotions) with this project!**

**Also, reminder that I'm always happy to chat and you can get a hold of me via Twitter where I basically live ( butterfly_onice), Tumblr (thisfairytalegonebad) or Discord (thisfairytalegonebad#2939).**

**Stay safe and healthy, everyone!**


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